The Bet
by Mymomomo
Summary: "Don't be so cocky, Captain, I doubt that you would be able to last ten minutes in my place." "And I doubt that you would last five in mine." -And so it begins.
1. And so it begins

**Hi people. No I'm not dead, but it's much worse. Two words, boarding school. Yeah well as I said in my other story my writing time has been literally cut in half with a meat cleaver or some other huge knife. This school piles on work like there's no tomorrow. Updates WILL be sluggish and I cannot promise regularity but I will try the best I can.**

**And I do believe that an explanation is in order. Before today I was unable to upload anything onto the site. Idk if there was something wrong with my craptastic new computer or with the school craptasitic internet connection. Either way I could not upload anything or even view any of my stories. I can now however so I will write and update when possible.**

**And also not to worry just because I started a this new story does not mean that I won't be continuing Twisted Reality. I Kind of have a bit of writers block at the moment, but oddly enough this little idea worked its way into my head. xD So with much pleasure I present to you; The Bet.**

**Disclaimer: I go to Boarding school in Canada... Nope Bleach is not mine.**

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He couldn't believe she had done it again. This was the last straw, the absolute _last_ straw. Toushiro Hitsugaya glared at the desk, overflowing with paperwork; files, forms, documents, reports, every form of office work known to man. And none of it was done. Usually he would let it slide, he knew how much his lieutenant hated paperwork and he for the most part did not mind the extra work too much. She did help when he asked but this… this looked like a pile up of work from two weeks ago. He felt his eye start to twitch and he curled his palms into fists. She took advantage of him sometimes. Did she not know how often he stayed in the office until the early hours of the morning trying to finish work that she was too lazy to do? More often than not he made it through the day on less than three hours sleep and a few cups of green tea? Did she even care? She had to because she was always mothering him. But then why would she cause him so much stress? He began to tremble in anger. No he would not let this one slide.

"Matsumoto!"

"Yees Captain?" The ginger haired woman poked her head into the office. "I was coming to work I swear. And look I'm not even late today!"

Toushiro rubbed his temples. "Please tell me Lieutenant, why is my desk full of your paperwork. Unfinished I might add."

"Oh um... well," She laughed uneasily, "I was going to do most of it last night, but then Shuuhei and Izuru Showed up and asked me to go out with them-"

"Okay stop." He sighed and went over to the desk. He knew for a fact that most of the time Matsumoto considered drinking to be more important than her work. It was a lot for her to even consider doing any of it in the first place. "Look Matsumoto, I know I usually help you with your paperwork, but I have my own work to worry about too. I cannot do both the jobs of a Captain and a Lieutenant."

She folded her arms across her large chest. "I don't think that's fair Captain. I do do my job as lieutenant."

He snorted, "Barely. Then explain these." He indicated the forms on his desk.

"I had to go out last night so I couldn't finish them."

"See that's proof that you take your job as a joke. You left the forms for me to finish so you could go and drink."

Rangiku's eyes sparkled dangerously, "May I remind you, Captain, that paperwork is only part of my job as lieutenant. I take care of the other stuff just fine."

"So because you do 'the other stuff just fine' you think that makes it okay for you to shove all your paperwork on to me? Might _I _remind _you_ that I as a Captain also have my own work to do and cannot afford to do yours also?"

"You don't even have that much work to do anyway. I know your duties as Captain. I would consider my job to be way more demanding. I deserve a break every now and then."

"You're joking right? Maybe you would deserve a break if you did any work to begin with!"

"You sit there like you're all high and mighty, Captain; I'd like to see you doing my job. I doubt you would even last ten minutes in my place."

"I doubt you would last _five_ minutes in mine!"

"Fine then you're on." She shot him a deadly glance.

He rolled his eyes and waved her off. "I refuse to take part in such infantile games. Just get to work Matsumoto."

"If I'm not able to last a week as captain of division 10 I'll do all my paperwork for three months."

His ear perked up. Rangiku smiled when she realised that she had gotten him interested.

"And what if you are able to last the week?"

She shrugged, "I'll do anything I want, and I can assure you that it won't be paperwork."

He seemed to consider the terms of the bet for a while. "Fine but if you lose you'll have to do my paperwork as well."

"..." damn, he drives a mean bargain, she gritted her teeth, "Fine. But since I'll be acting as Captain you'll have to be lieutenant."

"Naturally. And Matsumoto I'll expect you to meet all the deadlines. We start tomorrow."

"Don't be so cocky Captain. I expect to have three months of relaxation."

"And so do I."

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**Sooo how was it?**

**Haha you think you escaped that question just because this is a new story? Well think again my dearest readers, think again.**

**Seriously though, please tell me what you think. Suggestions, ideas, and constructive critisim are welcome. ^^**

**-Mymomomo**


	2. Day 1: Matsumoto

**Am here with chapter 2, sorry for the delay.**

**hope you enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: It does not belong to me... now... **

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It was 6:30 am. The hallways of the tenth division were empty. No one was awake yet, not even the dust stirred on the floor. It was absolute quiet; there was nothing to make a sound. Except of course in the administrative office, there was none other than the small, white haired Captain, um Lieutenant, sitting at his desk working away at piles and piles of paperwork. The only noise was the occasional shuffle of papers. A few stray beams of sunlight found their way through the window. Anyone who came into the office at that exact time would not have been surprised to see such a sight. However, they would have been shocked to see the captain sitting in the lieutenant's desk his _haori_ nowhere in sight, but the tenth division's lieutenant badge strapped to his arm.

Toushiro went through the paperwork more grudgingly than usual that day. He had only done this stupid bet so that he could get out of doing the paperwork. He began to suspect Rangiku of being much smarter than she actually let on. Here he was doing her paperwork of yesterday. He had sworn that he was not going to touch it as it was his lieutenant's job to do. But he was the lieutenant now so all the paperwork was his responsibility, once again. And once again Rangiku walked away free. He never really noticed how conniving she could be before this, or just how unlucky he was. He sighed heavily and looked over another document. At least he was a little more than half way done.

Meanwhile...

_Wakey-wakey, Mistress, _

Rangiku groaned and rolled over in her futon.

_Come on, it's time to get up,_

She buried her face into her pillow and snuggled deeper in to her blankets.

_Oh for the love of – get up you lazy, old hag!_

Rangiku slowly sat up her left eye twitching. _What was that you just called me, you good for nothing cat?_

_An ugly, lazy, old hag, who needs to get her fat butt out of bed._

Rangiku clenched her palms into fists, that insolent little... couldn't she see that it was only 6:30 she had another two hours until the work day began. And plus Captain never chewed her out for being late. Haineko was such an annoying cat sometimes... no scratch that, most of the times.

_Hey don't get mad at me. You asked me to wake you up early this morning. Blame yourself; I would rather still be sleeping at this ungodly hour._ The grey cat sniffed and pointed her nose high up.

Rangiku slapped her forehead. Oh yeah, that Captain bet thing, there was no way she was going to lose that one. So groggily she got out of bed and made her way to the baths. She could just imagine the look on Captain's face when he saw her in the office before him. Maybe then he wouldn't underestimate her work ethic so much.

_You're welcome, Mistress. _Haineko rolled her eyes, her voice laced with sarcasm, and curled back into a ball to go back to sleep.

So Rangiku managed to reach the office sometime near 10 o'clock. She personally blamed the heat of the baths that was so comforting and sleep enticing. She had spent a completely unintentional thirty minutes in the bath. Then of course she couldn't find her _tabi_ and had to go look for them. That had taken her near twenty minutes and she had found them where she had left them the night before; by the door to her quarters, who would have guessed? Then she had breakfast, a nice big, warm breakfast. It was so good that after eating she just felt so satisfied that she wanted to go back to sleep. It was only 7:30 so she decided to take a ten minute nap and it all when downhill from there. Ten minutes turned out to be two hours.

_I can't believe this! Captain is going to chew me out again! Ugh I was supposed to be on time today!_ Rangiku moaned in frustration. She had basically shot out of bed like it had been on fire or something, when she had realised the time. She had not even brushed her hair before she had run out the door.

_Now this one wasn't my fault. You told me to wake you up at 6:30 not at 10 or whatever._ Hainecko growled.

_I'm not blaming you this time. But Captain is going to be so mad..._

_Glad I'm not in your place, eh Mistress. _The cat snickered while stretching, her claws flexing and retracting.

Rangiku rolled her eyes. _And I suppose you're just going to go back to sleep then._

_But of course._

She slammed open the office door, breathing heavily. She leaned against the frame for a second trying to catch her breath.

"Nice of you to join us, Matsumoto. Hmm, I thought that the captain was always supposed to be on time to work." Toushiro said smugly from the desk.

Rangiku glared at him. His smugness was getting annoying; he was acting like he expected her to be a bad captain. She narrowed her eyes; well two could play at this game. "Have you finished all the paperwork _lieutenant?_"

He raised an eyebrow, "Yes, I'm just organising these files; it's a wonder how anyone can fine anything on this desk. Oh and as it seems I've found the budget report for last month. The one for this month is due in two days."

Her eyes widened, "And you're telling me this today?"

He shrugged and shot her a pointed look, "I only _found_ it today."

Rangiku swallowed she knew that Hitsugaya was not pleased that the budget report had been hidden somewhere on her desk, if he was still the captain she wasn't sure that it would have been found at all. As sad as that seemed, but he was work efficient he could finish the budget reports for five months in less than two hours. She on the other hand hated numbers. She almost failed basic maths at the academy, or would have if they had been required to do it. She wasn't a genius, that was her captain's job.

_Mistress, don't panic we can get through this._

Rangiku raised an eyebrow. Haineko had never been one to give her moral support.

_I want to wipe that smug little smirk of his face as much as you do. He may be cute and all but that child should learn to respect us..._

Rangiku shook her head. Cat's were spiteful creatures, she knew that much. But Haineko was right; Captain was getting a bit too overconfident for her liking. She may seem frivolous most of the time but she had worked her butt off to get where she was now.

_That's the difference between you and him Mistress, you worked hard to achieve your position he was just talented. And plus it wouldn't hurt to remind him how put him here in the first place._

Cats were also competitive. She turned to Toushiro. "Give it here; I'll get started right away."

Toushiro looked shocked for a second before he hid the expression under his famous mask of indifference. He hadn't expected her to get to work so willingly. He slowly handed her the stack of papers to be completed for the report. "You do know how to do this right?"

Was the doubt she heard in his voice? She grabbed the papers from his hand creasing a couple in the process, "Of course I know how to do it! I'm a lieutenant, why would I not know how to do a budget report?"

He raised an eyebrow, "It's just that lieutenants don't normally write the budget reports, I didn't expect you to know how." He shrugged, "But I guess I was wrong."

She narrowed her eyes and went over to the captain's, no her desk and sat down. She took a glance at the papers and almost instantly looked away.

"Toushiro," She saw him twitch at the use of his name, "Can you get me a cup of tea?"

He glared at her for a split second; did she just ask him to go make her a cup of tea? What right did she have to order him around... oh yeah, Matsumoto always used to make him tea didn't she? He sighed before forcefully pushing his chair back from the desk. The jarring sound echoed throughout the office. "Yes _Captain _Matsumoto." He stomped out of the office.

"Oh and the tea is on the top shelf in the cupboard above the sink." He wouldn't have known that right?

She saw Toushiro look to the heavens before he left the room. She shook her head, making tea wasn't that hard.

_That was a good one, Mistress._

_What are you talking about? I just asked for tea._

Haineko rolled her eyes, _There's no way he will be able to reach anything on the top shelf, much less for above the sink. Can he even see over the sink?_

_... I didn't think of that. Hmm he's going to run into a problem sooner or later._

But all jokes aside, there was a budget report that was due in two days time. She slowly looked at the paper in front of her.

! What the hell was this? It had to be Greek or something because this was definitely not in Japanese. She sighed and blinked a few times as if blinking would somehow make what was on the paper more understandable. It did not. She groaned out loud. What had she gotten herself into?

Okay, breathe, she ordered herself. She had to remain calm if she wanted to finish this. She was not stupid. Oh no, Rangiku Matsumoto was not stupid. She just did not like to work and had a few minor problems with maths. But this budget report was the very definition of work, and maths. How was Toushiro able to do this? She had seen him do it many times without breaking a sweat. But he was a genius, and she was just... she. Plus she only had two days to complete this; there was no way that that was going to happen.

But no, not doing the report meant that she would lose the bet. She could just picture the smug look on Toushrio's face when he won... and all the paperwork she would have to do. That was never going to happen either. With a new resolve she went back to the paper. She would do what it took to win this bet, even if she had to play part rocket scientist for the day. She was going to win.

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**So how was it?**

**I know that this chapter was a little slow but it should speed up in the next chapter so don't worry.^^**

**If you took the time to read it, you might as well review it eh?**

**Please review^^**

**-Mymomomo**


	3. Day 1: Hitsugaya

**Hi again all you wonderful readers. I must say I was quite thrilled with the amount of people that are reading and seemingly enjoying this. Thanks for all the reviews, story alert ads and favourite story ads ^^.**

**Well here's chapter three sorry it's so short, though...**

**Disclaimer: sorry not mine.**

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Toushiro grumbled all the way back to the office. Matsumoto had done that on purpose, making him make tea. The whole process was actually very simple he could do it in his sleep. Not to say that he was ticked off that he had to make tea, but rather where he had to get the tea from. He was going to fire the person who had decided that it would be the perfect idea to put the tea on the highest shelf possible. It was well known that he was vertically challenged, though he would refuse to admit it, and just doing something such as getting a box of tea that just so happened to be on the _highest _shelf possible was a near impossible task.

But he had done it; of course he had done it. And he had not asked anybody for help either, he would have rather died than ask for help. Using a contraption of chairs, stools and stepping ladders and by climbing up counters and shelves he had managed to reach the blasted box, almost falling several times in the process. Thankfully no one had come in to see their captain climbing all over the kitchen furniture, that would have been a hard, and embarrassing one to explain. Anyway, now he had the tea and had hidden the box in a much more _convenient _place for future use. Matsumoto owed him big time for this.

He slid the door to the office open and was shocked to see the ginger woman working. This was a sight to behold, a once in a lifetime opportunity to see Matsumoto actually working. It would have brought tears to anybody's eyes, such a beautiful sight. Careful not to disturb her he quietly placed the cup of tea on her desk. She did not even look up to acknowledge him. He shook his head, he normally would have been mad that she did not even glance in his direction after all he had just done for her, but to see her working, not just putting up the front that she was busy, but actually working he did not mind in the least. Her brow was slightly wrinkled as she glared at the paper in front of her and she was chewing her bottom lip, a sure sign that she was concentration. Her left hand tapped a steady beat on the wooden desktop while her right hand held the brush poised ready to write. His jaw almost dropped open in astonishment.

Slowly and quietly he made his way over to his desk, well the lieutenant's desk. He sat down still unable to believe that it was Matsumoto over there working diligently and quietly on the budget report. Wow just, wow. Anyway he had his own work to get to. He had finished organising the desk and was now ready to get started on some of the projects that Matsumoto had so kindly left for him. It was not much tough, well not much compared to what he had been used to as a captain. He had been doing his and Matsumoto's work for as long as he could remember, the two had intermingled so that he sometimes did not even know the difference between the captain's work and the lieutenant's work.

Come to think of it, what were the duties of the lieutenant? He knew that Matsumoto was in charge of minor paperwork such as division transfers (but the captain had to approve and sign), assigning minor missions to division members, keeping and updating personal files on each division member, he also knew that it was her job to deliver and pick up paperwork to and from the first or any other divisions, and she was in charge of all the new recruits. He sighed; he really did have a lot of work to do for the next two weeks. Well it was nothing that wouldn't be too difficult, as long as he had a plan for a course of action. He took out a week planner and began to get to work. Today was to be used to paperwork, tomorrow he was going to have to give potential new members a tour of the squad, Thursday, was for more paperwork, and Friday there was a lieutenant's meeting... maybe, the notice wasn't too clear.

Good now that that was out of the way he could concentrate on the rest of his paperwork. Glancing over at Matsumoto struggling he could not help but smirk knowing that this was going to be an easy win.

"THAT'S IT!" Matsumoto's scream shocked him so badly that he nearly fell out of his seat. "I can't take it anymore!"

"Matsumoto..."

"I've been staring at the same thing for this whole time and it makes no sense at all! None, nada, zilch!" she ended her rant by burying her head in her arms on the desk with a deflated puff of air.

Toushiro stared at her for a minute or so. So she hadn't actually been working per say. Well it was good while it lasted. He took in his lieutenant a flop of ginger and pink on the desk. He sighed.

"I thought you knew how to do a budget report, Matsumoto."

Her head shot up, "Oh Captain, when did you get in here?"

He rolled his eyes, "You don't understand it do you?"

She scratched the back of her neck, "I...um... well... no."

Toushiro shook his head, "Then why did you tell me you did?"

She scowled at him, "Look you were there acting all smug like you expected me not to know how to do it! What did you want me to say? No I'm stupid; I don't get it at all?"

"I didn't expect you to know how to do it because you don't normally have to do them." He folded his arms across his chest. "I know you're not stupid Matsumoto, and I do also know that the budget report is not particularly easy, which is why I asked if you knew how to do it in the first place. You're letting this competition get to you. I would have shown you how to do it properly you know..."

"So then if you knew that I wasn't going to be able to do it, why did you let me try in the first place? Honestly captain." She shook her head, "Oh no wait you're not captain..."

Toushiro felt his eyebrow twitch and said through gritted teeth, "Because you said that you knew how to do it." He decided to ignore the part about the 'captain'. "Okay Matsumoto, bring it here, I'll give u a demonstration." He held out his hand.

"Really," Matsumoto frowned, "But then you'll be helping me to win..."

"This isn't about the bet, the fact is that this is due in two days time and Yamamoto will not be pleased if it's handed in late. Both of our butts are on the line here."

She nodded and came over to him, "You know I really understand what I'm supposed to be doing it's just those goddamned numbers. They don't make any sense."

Toushiro sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. Why had he even made this stupid bet in the first place? "Well I guess we'll just have to work on this together, Matsumoto-"

"Hey wait a minute, if I'm captain now, why do you still refer to me by name?"

Toushiro grit his teeth, "Don't push it woman, I'm being kind enough to show you how to do this. Giving a crash course in mathematics was not part of the deal by the way."

"Yeah, yeah. Hey how about we take a break before we start this?" she asked hopefully twirling a lock of hair around her index finger.

"Not on your life. Now sit down and listen."

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**Soooo how was it?**

**This may be the last update in a while as I'm going back to school tomorrow, so idk if i'll have time to write...**

**sorry for the inconvenience caused... but please review while you're still here.^^**

**-Mymomomo**


	4. Day 2: Hitsugaya

**Well I'm back again once again sorry for the slow updates but since school has started i barely have any time for anything. **

**Anyway I hope you all like the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Bleach is not mine.**

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The two officials were beat the next morning. Toushiro looked like he had just come back from fighting a pack of hollows; his already messy hair was more of a mess and he had faint dark circles under his eyes. As for Rangiku... well she looked better, she had this special talent to look good even when she had no right to, though you could tell that she was tired. They both had stayed up till nearly 4am trying to finish the budget report. They had finished it of course, Toushiro did not let Rangiku out of his sight until it was completed, but now both of them were paying for it.

As of now, Rangiku was slumped over her desk snoring away on top of the rest of the paperwork that she was supposed to be finishing. Toushiro let her sleep. Even though she was supposed to be captain and he was just lieutenant, she did deserve it. While they had worked together last night he had noticed that she was actually paying attention and trying it out for herself. She was terrible with numbers though, that much he couldn't deny, but she had actually tried very hard to understand and actually ending up in being a big help. He scoffed a little at that; she had ended up helping to do what was her job in the first place. She may not be good with numbers, but she was very smart in a conniving, sneaky way. That was the second time in two days that she had gotten him to do her work for her, without him realising what she had done. He paused, beginning to wonder who the genius around here really was.

_You're just really gullible, Master. _Hyourinmaru said shaking his head.

Toushiro disagreed, he thought that he was just too nice, especially to his lieutenant... er captain at the moment. He was sitting at the lieutenant's desk with yet another stack of paperwork in front of him and a cup of green tea to the side. While Rangiku was... sleeping. He rolled his eyes; he would have to wake her up soon. Anyway, today was marked to be busy for him, so if she needed any help that would be just too bad for her. He did not even know why he was helping her in the first place; they were supposed to be competing against each other. Back to the theory that Ranigku was actually a con-artist in disguise and he had well been conned. How humiliating...

Hyourinmaru was chuckling a bit in his mind. _Anyway_ today was going to be very busy for him. He had to finish the paperwork; he had to update at least seventeen squad members. They just kept on getting married, divorced, and having babies! It was frustrating, if they would just stay as they were, his job right now would be a lot less difficult. Also apparently a couple members had improved their shikai so reporting that was also in order. And oh no, that was not all. Today was the day that was scheduled to take the new recruits on a tour of the squad. He sighed, that one he was not looking forward to at all.

A loud yawn broke his trend of thought. Ah, Rangiku was waking up. He looked over to the ginger woman and saw her stretching and rubbing her eyes.

"Good Morning, Toushiro!" She sang looking at him with a pair of bleary eyes.

He rolled his eyes, "You air-head, it's already eleven o'clock... damn." He pulled out his work planner and cursed when he open it up to the page for that day. "Matsumoto, I have to leave in thirty minutes and I'm sure I'm going to be out for the rest of the day."

She raised a thin eyebrow, "Why?"

"I have to give the new recruits a tour of the division." He mumbled, "Please do your work while I'm gone, I believe that you're supposed to be working on taking inventory today."

She moaned, "Work never seems to end does it."

"You haven't even started yet!"

"Exactly, and it seems like too much for me to handle."

He rolled his eyes, "Whatever, Matsumoto, just remember if you don't do your work, I win the bet."

She narrowed her eyes, "Trust me I don't plan on loosing, so you can just get rid of any ideas in that little head of yours."

"Little head..."

"Oh and just a bit of a warning, most of the time you have to be very firm with the new recruits, they tend to be... difficult." She picked up a few papers off her desk and winced as she read them.

"Difficult," Toushiro mumbled. Well they certainly couldn't be more of a hand full than she ever had been.

("\(^.^)/")

There were at least forty potential recruits that he was supposed to meet with that day and they all stood waiting for him, looking annoyed and bored. That was not a good thing, Toushiro thought. And they were all so huge! The shortest one from what he could see was two heads taller than him. He never remembered his graduating class being that big, there were the few odd-balls of course, but still.

He ran up to them, "Sorry I'm late."

A few of them looked at him oddly.

"Who are you?" one of them asked frowning, "I don't remember seeing you in any of our classes." He turned to one of his peers, "Do you?"

The other shook his head, "I wasn't even aware that they let children that young into the academy."

Toushiro felt a vein throb in his forehead. Were they blind? Could they not see the lieutenant's badge strapped to his arm? He was not hiding it, it was in plain view. He took a deep breath; it did not make sense getting mad at them right now. So rubbing his temples he addressed them.

"Is this the group interested in joining the tenth division?"

"Yeah, the lieutenant, who's supposed to be giving us the tour, is late."

He sighed, "Yeah sorry about that. Shall we begin then?"

They stared at him, and then finally put two and two together. "Wait you're the lieutenant?" Someone asked in surprise.

He sighed again, "Yes. Hitsugaya's my name. Let's get going."

"Wait but you're just a kid, you can't be lieutenant!"

He paused and glared at them, "Let's get one thing straight, I'm not a child." Did the academy stop teaching the students about the divisions and captains? Surely this group might have done a bit of research on his squad before deciding to join? He knew they had the captain's and lieutenant's profiles at the academy, but it looked like this group really had no idea who he was. This was going to be a long day.

"Well, I am lieutenant at the moment." He mumbled.

"No way."

"What's going on?" Someone from the back of the group spoke up, and all of a sudden the entire group's focus was on him.

"This kid says he's the lieutenant of Squad ten."

"That's not possible; I have a little brother older than him back in Rukongai!"

"He has to be joking."

Toushiro felt his temper rise. This group of... he was going to hurt some of them soon.

"Hey, kid you sure you're not pulling our legs or anything?"

"I'm not a child! And look can't you see the lieutenant's badge on my arm! What more proof do you want?"

That shut them up.

He breathed a breath of relief, "So shall we get going then?"

Most of them nodded still a bit miffed. Serves them right for doubting him in the first place.

"So how did a kid like you make it to lieutenant?"

That was it, "For the last time; I'm not a child! And I made it by hard work and effort. Let us go now."

"Prove it."

"What?" This was getting annoying. He did not feel that he had to prove anything. Hell anything he had to be proved had been proved by him becoming captain! He was tempted to bring them to the library look up his file and show them exactly who he was.

"Prove that you're strong enough to be lieutenant, and not just some kid playing dress up."

Okay he was getting mad now, "Shows how much you know! Have you even bothered looking up and learning about the division you planned on joining?"

"Of course we have. We know that the captain was a prodigy when he was in the academy and that the lieutenant is not a child."

('\(^.^)/")

This was going to be a very long day indeed. He had convinced them eventually that he really was the lieutenant and that was only when he got mad enough that his reiatsu had started to leak and a few snowflakes had started to fall inside. It had scared the crap out of them but now at least they believed him. He could honestly say that he was glad that he did not have to deal with this on a regular basis and in a week's times he would not have to deal with the new recruits at all. Matsumoto could keep her job; he was never going to switch ever again.

"And over here is the kitchen, we do have trained staff that cook, but we do change who's on clean up duty once a week."

They seemed to be paying attention to him, that was a good thing, but when he passed a few members from his squad they sent him confused looks. He had to dismiss them with a shake of his head saying that he would explain later. It was an odd sight for most of his squad to see him wondering about without his captain's haori giving a tour of the division none the less. They knew that their captain was a very unique person but this was odd even for him.

Toushiro led the newbies through the kitchen, where the staff was busy cooking, they barely glanced up.

"And this is the mess hall. Were undergoing a few renovations, so please excuse the mess." The hall wasn't really that messy but they were in the process of widening the back wall. For ages the squad members had been complaining that the mess hall was too small. But that was another story, one that Rangiku would have to deal with, not him. He smiled a bit at that.

"And now, if you follow me, we'll be going to the training fields."

He was just leaving the mess hall when a blur of ginger and pink jumped in front of him. He stepped back shocked bumping into the person that was behind him.

"Toushiro, I was looking for you!"

He snickered. "Scared of your own captain? You really are a child."

Toushiro chose to ignore that comment and glared at Rangiku. "What do you want, Matsumoto?"

She sighed, bent over a bit and wagged a finger in front of his face, like she was reprimanding a child. The recruits snickered even more. "It's not Matsumoto; it's Captain."

He rolled his eyes, now why did that sound familiar.

"What do you want?" He repeated, not too pleased that he was being laughed at again.

She straightened and twirled around as if showing off a new dress. It was only then that he realised that she was wearing a captain's haori. "Look what I found!" she sang, "I was going through the supply cupboard in the office and I found of the old captain's hoari's and the great thing is; it fits!"

"... That's wonderful, Matsumoto, but don't you have work to be doing right now?"

She waved her hand dismissively, "That can be done later. Anyway are these the new members?"

"Yes ma'am!" One of the men replied, snapping to attention.

Toushiro groaned. Oh sure _now _they behave.

Rangiku smiled at them, "Well what do you think of the tenth? I hope Toushiro has been nice to you all, he can be a bit of a brat sometimes."

"Matsumoto!" Toushiro felt his reputation and his credibility with these men (and women) fly out the window right at that moment.

"It's wonderful, Captain." The man replied.

Toushiro noticed that his eyes were fixed on a point noticeably lower than Rangiku's face. He scowled darkly at the man.

"That's great." Matsumoto smiled, "Well I hope you have a good tour. Don't be too mean Toushiro. Oh I have to show Nanao my new haori!"

"No! Matsumoto, get to work!" But the ginger woman had already run off. He was left staring at the empty air she had been standing a few seconds ago. He shook his head.

"So..." one of the men slid up next to him.

He looked up at him.

"Is that really the captain?"

"Well," He paused, "... as of now yes, but she-"

"This is the best division ever! I can't wait to join." There were a few shouts of agreement.

"Wait-"

"Never mind you, brat. Didn't you guys see her? She's such a babe."

More hoots of agreement and a few other statements that he did not care to understand.

Toushiro felt his eyebrow twitch. Yes, they kept on referring to him as a brat but to talk about Rangiku like that? He was not going to sit around and just listen to it.

"Hey... Hey!...HEY! Look let's just finish this tour and then you guys are free to do what you want."

"Why doesn't the captain give the tours?" Someone wondered aloud.

Yep, this was going to be a very, very long afternoon.

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**Sooo how was it?**

**Heh now Matsumoto has a haori and Shiro is stuck with the newbies^^**

**tell me what you think or what you would like to happen or even what you would want to change**

**REVIEW!**

**-Mymomomo**


	5. Day 2: Matsumoto

**Hello again to all my lovely readers! And thanks to all who so kindly reviewed the last chapter, it's good to hear what all pf you think ^^**

**sorry this chapter may be a little slow, but i can promise what i have planed for the next couple chapters will make up for it.**

**Disclaimer: I. Do. Not. Own. Bleach. Period.**

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Rangiku wanted to cry. Yes the tall, proud, happy-go-lucky ginger wanted to sit down and cry. The reason: paperwork, filthy, stinking, stupid paperwork. She had been sitting at the desk for the better of the morning and there were still countless files that she had yet to touch. She felt like screaming, ripping her hair out... well no, she wouldn't go that far, beauty was far more important that paperwork. She let out a deflated breath and slumped over the desk.

"How does Captain do it?" She wondered aloud. Really the boy could sit there hours on end just doing paperwork. He even had to be reminded to eat sometimes. She honest to dear god wished that she had his work ethic at the moment. She picked up a paper from the unfinished stack in front of her; it was just nonsense, repetitive nonsense. She quickly read through the paper and signed her name at the bottom. Some filling for some person or other, she really did not care. After three more forms she had it. How the hell was Toushiro able to do this? It was so boring! It did not even require much thinking, in her opinion it was mind numbing and useless. She could find a million and one other ways to better occupy her time. It was even a beautiful day. From what she could see from the window, there wasn't even a cloud in sight, and a nice cool breeze blew into the office every so often. She could be out just hanging out with Renji and Hisagi, or even Captian Kyoraku. Hell, there were probably huge sales in the shopping district at that moment. She sighed as she pictured all the summer clothes she could be buying right then.

Wait, no, hold up. She shook her head. Last night she had seen the budget report, the tenth division was only a few thousand kan away from going under. There was no room from expenditure at all. What, with all the renovations going on at the moment, no wonder Toushiro had always been so stingy when it came to money. At first she had thought he was just being his usual overly cautious stick-in-the-mud, grumpy-old-man self, but now she knew that he had a valid reason. She sighed, and to think of all the times she had used money from the budget for her own needs. She actually felt guilty about that one. They barely had enough money to finish the renovations. But anyway, why should she mope around for that, Toushiro had said himself, as soon as they were finished with the renovations, they would be out of the red-zone. She perked up almost instantly; it never did pay to be a pessimist, pun unintended.

She smiled at her own little joke, and then turned her attention back to the paperwork. Hmmm, looks like they were low on medical supplies in the sick bay. Who had ever invented the task of taking inventory needed to die a slow painful death, and if he already was dead, he needed to die again. Picturing all the ways she could torture the inventor of paperwork she happily made her way through the next six files. And so was Rangiku's work ethic for the next few minutes.

"Well that was certainly a productive fifteen minutes." Rangiku stretched out a few kinks in her neck as she observed the almost completed pile of paperwork in front of her. Opposite to popular belief, she could actually do the paperwork; she could be just as efficient as her captain, if not more as long as it didn't involve maths, when she wanted to be. The problem was that she was hardly ever in the mood to be productive, simply because the paperwork was so goddamn boring. She stacked the papers neatly into a pile and admired her work, "And that's the inventory, completed, I wonder how long it takes Captain to do this? Great, I'm so bored I'm talking to myself."

She glanced around the office as if looking to see if anyone has overheard here. It certainly would not do if anyone of the squad members came in and saw her acting like she was schizophrenic. It was strange enough to see her doing paperwork, but then again that alone was enough to give the poor people a heart attack. She laughed at the mental image. Anyway if she was going to win the bet, it was back to work for her... oh look her tea mug was empty. She should go to refill it, and maybe get lunch one time; it would not do for her to work on an empty stomach.

("\(^.^)/")

"Wow, look at all the stuff in here!"Rangiku exclaimed. It wasn't everyday that she went through the storage closet in the office. In fact she didn't even think she had gone through it ever. Now why was Rangiku going through the storage closet? It seemed that her ink pad had run out of ink, so of course she had to go find a new one, or else she would not be able to do her work.

Her initial thought was that she would get the new ink pad and then get back to work, but there seemed to be this unwritten rule that all storage closets had to be messy. So here she was scavenging through the closet not as much searching as admiring the things she found. There were pairs upon pairs of old waraji, a dusty shihakusho, a few broken mugs, around twenty sadly empty (she had checked) sake bottles... but those might have been her doing, there were boxes of paper, a coral pink vase (she knew why that particular piece was in storage), countless old, dusty books, a broken telephone, a her favourite find an old picture album (she didn't even know they made those in the Seireitei) featuring the members of squad ten in their early days.

Giggling, she sat back on her heals and paged through the book. It was amazing to see how much people had changed in the past 100 years. Who had a new hairstyle, who had put on weight? She smiled fondly at a picture featuring a tenth division party, she remembered that day, it was only 60 or so years before Toushiro had become captain. Most of the pictures had been candid but a few were set up showing various graduating classes and groups of friends. They had even managed to get one of Toushiro when he had just become captain. He had been so small... er smaller, back then. Rangiku squealed he looked so cute sitting behind his desk it had been too big for him back then so he had to kneel on the chair so he could see over the top, and so he was fervently doing paperwork. She smiled, some things never changed. She flipped through the rest of the photo album smiling and laughing. Now that was a half hour well spent.

She paused, what had she even come in here for in the first place. She sat down and thought about it, oh yeah the ink pad. She rummaged a bit more before producing a box labelled office supplies. She was about to open it when something else caught her eye. Leaning further into the closet she pulled on a white piece of fabric. Was that... her eyes lit up yes it was! Ecstatic she pulled out what appeared to be an old captain's haori. She grinned; it had to belong to the old captain, because this was way too big to fit Toushiro. What was this doing in there?

Now that she thought about it, she was the captain now, so by right she should have a haori. Toushiro even had the lieutenant's arm band strapped to his arm, so she should be wearing a haori. Obviously none of his own would be able to fit her, but now that she had this...

("\(^.^)/")

"So let me get this straight, you and Capatin Hitsugaya switched places." Nanao regarded Rangiku with a raised eyebrow.

The ginger woman nodded.

"Why?"

"Well, Captain said that I had no idea what it was like to really work, so I told him that being a lieutenant isn't that easy. He went and insulted my job so I bet him that he couldn't last two weeks as a lieutenant. And here I am now."

Nanao shook her head. She was used to Rangiku's strange antics but Captain Hitsugaya was not one who blindly went along with his lieutenant. "Well I suppose this could help to strengthen work relationships between you two, maybe I should try this with my captain, he has a worse work ethic than you."

Rangiku folded her arms across her large chest. "The point, Nanao-chan, is that if I win I don't have to do work for two whole months after."

The brown haired woman sighed, "You know if you just did your work in the first place it wouldn't pile up on you like that, and you wouldn't have so much to do in the first place?"

Rangiku frowned slightly, "I know but it's doing the work in the first place. Paperwork is sooooooo boring."

Nanao smiled and tugged a piece of hair behind her ear. "So how is Captain Hitsugaya doing?"

Rangiku shrugged, "He seems okay, but I don't think dealing with people is his strong point, and as you know lieutenant-ship requires a lot of human relations. If I can stand the paperwork just long enough for him to crack, then I've got this prize in the bag."

"Just don't get too carried away, Rangiku, you know how you can be sometimes."

Rangiku raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow, "This is paperwork we're talking about Nanao. I don't think it's possible for me to get carried away."

The eight division lieutenant rolled her eyes, "It's not the paperwork I'm talking about. Don't take advantage of Hitsugaya, is what I meant."

The ginger waved her hand dismissively, "Would I ever do such a thing Nanao-chan?"

The other woman just sighed and turned back to her work.

("\(^.^)/")

"So, Toushiro, how

* * *

were the new recr

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uits?" Rangiku asked the small boy over a cup of tea in their office.

Toushiro glared at her from his desk. "Animals, the lot of them. I don't know how you deal with this on a regular basis, Matsumoto."

"Call me 'Captain'!" Rangiku whined, "It's not fair, I always called _you_ 'captain'."

He rolled his eyes, "that's because I am actually a captian, this is just some stupid bet remember?"

She pouted, "Whatever. And you still didn't tell me about the tour."

He ran a hand through his hair and eyed her wearily. "They didn't listen to a word I said, and they were convinced that I was too young to be lieutenant."

Rangiku hid a snicker, "Ohhh, poor Toushiro!"

He shot her a sharp glare. "Thank god I don't have to do that again-"

"I don't know about that." Rangiku cut him off, "It is the lieutenant's job to organise the human relations of the squads."

The look on Toushiro's face was priceless. It was as if he had just figured out that apples did not really grow on trees and that fish did not need water to survive and could grow legs and walk on land as they so desired. "It's... you mean..."

Rangiku snickered, "Still think being lieutenant is easy?"

Oh yeah, she was so going to win this.

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**Sooo how was it? **

**As i said it was a bit slow, but it should pic up pace in the next chapters or so. **

**Hmm I actually wonder who's gonna win?**

**Send in your votes: Review Please!**

**-Mymomomo**


	6. Day 3

**Sorry for the long wait everyone.**

**So as promised this chapter pucks up speed in preparation for the main conflict of the story. I'm not going to tell you what it is, ^^ so you'll have to read to find out.**

**Disclaimer: I own nada.**

**enjoy ^^**

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Shuffling sounds could be heard throughout the entire tenth division. And occasionally there was a loud bang and a few swear words. Other than that it would have been a nice morning. Rangiku was sitting in her desk, absentmindedly going through a stack of completed paperwork. She was surprised at herself for even being able to get up this early much less to get to the office and to start doing work. She snickered, noticing that Toushiro was nowhere to be seen. The trials of the lieutenant were probably catching up to him. Yeah, she was so winning this bet.

The shuffling sounds got louder causing Rangiku to stop her work and look up. It sounded as though someone was scuffing their feet as they walked. Soon the office door slammed open and in came a very disgruntled looking Toushiro. His normally messy hair was even more messy than usual and his eyes were blood shot. Rangiku glanced at her perfectly manicured nails and tucked a lock of neatly styled ginger hair behind her ear. He glared at her as he made his way to his desk nearly tripping over his feet. As soon as he sat down in the chair he flopped over the desk.

Rangiku raised an eyebrow. He honestly looked like he hadn't gotten any sleep at all last night. Come to think of it, she didn't really think that he had a decent night's sleep for a really long time now. And yesterday had been taxing on him, to put it mildly. She sighed and went over to him and rested a hand on his back.

"Now, Toushiro, no sleeping in the office." She joked gently.

He raised his head and glared at her with one blood shot eye, before resting his head back into his arms. "Shut up Matsumoto, I'm not in the mood for this."

"You look terrible; didn't you sleep at all last night?"

"No. Now shut up."

She giggled; he was so cute when he was grumpy. She ran a hand through his hair managing to mess it up even more. He was even too tired to slap it away. "Why not? You went to bed early."

"That doesn't mean I slept."

"Explain."

He slowly sat up glaring at her. Obviously he was not enthused with all her questions. "Can I ask you one thing Matsumoto? Why is it that you have to play mother to every single person in the squad?"

She frowned slightly, "Well if I don't do it nobody else will. And I don't see what you're getting at. If you don't want me to ask you what's wrong you could just say so."

He sighed and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hands, "No that's not what I meant. I mean why is it that when somebody has personal troubles they sniff out the lieutenant at ungodly hours of the night to discuss these said problems?"

She bit her bottom lip, oh yeah that.

"I was up for the whole night trying to convince some woman that her husband was not cheating on her, and that there was no reason to commit suicide because of this!"

She mentally cringed. Mokoto was known for being overly dramatic... but to talk for the whole night? She knew she had problems with her husband, who was not cheating on her by the way, but she still needed to be convinced every so often that their relationship was going fine. Rangiku was usually the person charged with that task. Maybe she should have warned Toushiro before hand, though. He looked like he was paying for it now. It was the both Captain's and lieutenant's job to look out for the squad, but Toushiro was not known for his social skills. Even though it was obvious that he cared for his men, the task of counselling, consoling or whatever emotional needs the squad had usually fell into Rangiku's hands.

She scratched the back of her neck, "It was Mokoto wasn't it?"

His glare intensified, "I don't even know the blasted woman's name! She was talking for the whole night, Matsumoto, the _whole _night! I learnt things I never wanted to, she was basically crying over my shoulder!"

"Well it is the superior's job to look after subordinates..."

"Looking after does not entail counselling." He growled.

She sighed, "Yes it does. Each one of the members of squad ten looks up to you. You should at least hear them out when they come to you with a problem."

He rolled his eyes, "I think I did more than hear her out, Matsumoto. If this happens again I'm sending her straight to you."

"You see, that's your problem, how can you be a good captain if you don't listen to your men?"

Toushiro looked at her shocked, "I listen to my men Matsumoto. I just don't find it necessary to fraternise with them when I have more important things to be doing such as making sure the squad is running smoothly, making sure we don't go bankrupt, or I don't know, sleeping!"

"I bet you don't even know the names of half of your men." She folded her arms across her chest and glared at the small boy.

"Matsumoto, the squad is made up of over two hundred people, you can't expect me to know all of them."

"You should at least try. Why do you think they come to me if they need help with anything? I haven't seen any squad members asking you anything lately."

Toushiro paused; the members did seem to shrink a bit whenever he was around. They were efficient, but they didn't seem to communicate with him much. He had never thought about it before. They respected him that was for sure... wait what was he doing dwelling on this. He was their superior he did not need to make sure they're every whim was met. His squad was run on efficiency and so far he had been doing a darn good job.

"This is a work place Matsumoto, not a daycare. I can't afford to waste time tending to people's needs. If I did then nothing would ever get done. As long as nobody is dying, I'm fine with it. I deal with efficiency not emotion, and you should too. Maybe then you would be able to do your work."

The redhead threw her arms up in the air, "You're hopeless! I try to teach you how to be a person and all you care about is work, work, work! No wonder you don't have any friends-"

She immediately clamped her hands over her mouth. That had been a low blow. The white haired boy glared at her before abruptly standing up and marching to the door. "That's enough, Matsumoto. I'm going to make a cup of tea, would you like some?"

His mouth was set in a grim line and though his last statement had the illusion of being thoughtful, she knew that he was plotting her death. She slowly nodded and he left the office, slamming the door shut and leaving the room a bit colder than before he entered.

Rangiku slowly sauntered back to her desk then plopped herself in the chair. He was going to be mad for quite some time. It may have been a low blow, but in a sense it had been true. He was so work oriented he often forgot that he had to let loose once in a while. Okay so he let his men throw parties occasionally, and when the occasion called for it, but more often than not he disappeared soon after the start. In his fear of being looked down upon because he was a child, he had put up so many barriers and strived so hard to prove himself that he came off as emotionless and cold most of the time. He should realise by now that his men did not just want a figure head for a captain, they wanted someone who they could relate to and see as a person, not just a commanding officer. She sighed and rubbed her forehead, if anything she hopped this bet would help him to see that.

Toushiro made his way to the kitchen, nearly freezing everything in his path.

_Stupid Matsumoto_, he growled inwardly, who was she to tell him how to run his squad. He was the reason why it was functioning as effectively as it was, if it wasn't for his organising, his strategising his everything the tenth would have crashed and burned by now. She didn't even do her paperwork most of the time and yet she was telling him about being a bad captain; the bloody hypocrite. He snarled and turned round a corner. Plus despite what she said, he did have a relationship with his men, he gave orders and they followed them. They trusted and respected him, and that was the exact relationship he was looking for.

"Um Captain?" he was pulled out of his thoughts as someone walked up to him. He glared at the man, who noticeably flinched.

"What is it?" He tried not to sound too irritated but that was hard to do considering his previous thoughts.

"Are you alright?"

Toushiro raised an eyebrow; the man had stopped him and gone out of his way just to ask him if he was alright?

He nodded, "Yes, Akiyama," Ha in your face Matsumoto, he knew the man's name, "I'm fine just a little preoccupied with something. Thank you for asking."

The man smiled a bit, "That's good, sir, you looked angry. Is there anything I could do to help?"

Toushiro frowned and shook his head, "No. Don't you have duties to be doing right now? I appreciate your concern, but you should be getting back to work now."

The man nodded and bowed before he sped off. "Yes, sir."

Toushiro sighed and continued on his way to the kitchen. See, he knew how to communicate with his members. Though, Akiyama had seemed a little scared, maybe he had been slightly too harsh with him... damn Matsumoto had him second guessing his actions. His scowl returned. But the man had seemed scared; why though? He must have made a name for himself then, okay fine everyone in the squad knew that he was no nonsense and strict and that he would tolerate no foolishness, and he was not generally a laid back person. He thought for a while, maybe he shouldn't have ended the conversation so abruptly either. The man had genuinely seemed concerned about him, and his granny had always told him it was polite to inquire how others were doing.

He stopped and really began to analyse his interactions with his squad. As far as he knew he was pretty nice to them. He was concerned for their well being, he never overworked anyone, and every so often he gave them time to relax and unwind. He was a little strict though, but that could not be helped, he was generally patient, unless someone got on his nerves. Now he was actually trying to figure out what he was doing wrong. Sue him for being a perfectionist; he hated to be doing anything wrong. The more the thought the more he realised that his lieutenant had a point. He did not really communicate with his men at all. And the conversation with Akiyama had proved it. Okay, so maybe his relationship with his men was a little flawed, but nothing was perfect... on second thought, he would work on that.

("\(^.^)/")

"Okay Matsumoto, I admit it, you were right." Toushiro exclaimed over his newly received pile of paperwork.

The two sat in their office trying to complete the day's work.

Rangiku looked up from completing a form and glanced over to the acting lieutenant. "What was that, Toushiro?" She hid a small smile.

The boy rolled his eyes, "You heard me perfectly well, Matsumoto."

She giggled as she signed her name at the bottom of the paper. "And what brought about this wonderful revelation?"

"This goddamn paperwork!" Toushrio fisted his hair in his hand that wasn't holding the stack of paper. "I have to select ten members of the squad to patrol district 39 next week."

"And that is a problem how?"

"The instructions specifically said that I was not to choose any seated members, or members with element based zanpackutos. They want people exceptionally good at kido, shunpo and sensing reiatsu."

Ranigku nodded, that seemed simple enough, and in her mind she had already picked out seven members who would be good for the job. "And I'm guessing you don't know who to pick."

He growled, "Obviously not. How the hell am I supposed to know who has element based zanpackutos in my squad?"

"You could get to know them."She mumbled under her breath. She glanced up to see the little boy on the verge of pulling out his hair. "43% of the squad has element based zapackutos that should cut down your search quite significantly."

He gapped at her, "How do you know that?"

She sighed and tugged a piece of hair behind her ear. She got up and went over to his desk where she opened the bottom drawer. In it lay slightly over two hundred thin files neatly organised in alphabetical order. "These are simplified profiles of each member of the squad. They are all only one page long and contain name, birthday, skills, zanpackuto information, medical conditions and photos. I suggest you start looking."

Toushrio's mouth dropped open. This type of work was not new to him, but going through over two hundred profiles, was not something to be taken lightly. Maybe he should get to know his squad better after all.

Rangiku chucked and made her way back to her desk. She glanced over at him and smiled when she saw him fervently going through the files with fiery determination in his eyes. She knew that he was not just going through the names but actually trying to remember who the people were. She was proud of him. She sat back down and pulled her work back towards her. Thank god she didn't have to deal with numbers for a while. All she had to do was proof read some reports from the lower members who had just come back from a mission in district 21. She flipped through then realised with horror that it was almost ten pages long. Apparently the mission had been very eventful. She groaned but got to work anyway.

She had only gotten half way down the first page when there was a loud knock on the door. She sighed before placing the document aside.

"Come in!"

The door slid open to revealing two bulky men, one holding a clipboard. She looked on confused at them. Toushiro had glanced up and regarded the two men with uncertainty before looking at Matsumoto questioningly. She sighed and nodded, yes they were members of squad ten. But what were they doing here.

"Good afternoon..." The man with the clipboard paused staring at Toushiro sitting in the lieutenant's desk and then at Rangiku with a captain's haori. She rolled her eyes, wasn't everyone confused today?

"The captain and I are doing a... an experiment. I'll be acting as captain for the next two weeks."

They nodded in understanding, the tenth division officials were anything but normal.

"Now how can I help you two?" She sent a dazzling smile their way, causing Toushiro to scowl.

"We're here about the renovations to the mess hall... er... Captain. The suppliers were here yesterday and left a few samples and prices for the materials. We wanted to go over the costs with you before we placed any orders."

So these were the two in charge of the renovations. She nodded, "Let's see then."

They came over to her desk and gave her the clipboard. Matsumoto nearly burst into tears at the sight. All she could see were numbers, numbers and more numbers. What the hell did they mean by net cost anyway? While she was busy trying not to hyperventilate the men were blabbing on about measurements and cost per square foot. They were talking about two different sets of numbers. That was way more than her brain could handle she felt it slowly dying. And what more, these people expected her to understand and give them a solution. Ha, boy were they in for a shock.

"Excuse me, Gakusha and Baisotei?" Toushiro had somehow made it into the middle of all the numbers, when had he even got up from his desk? Rangiku gazed at him thankfully. He acknowledged her with a slight nod of then head.

"Yes sir?"

"Why don't you leave this here, so that the captain can go through it at her own leisure, you don't need a response this instant do you?"

"No, sir."

"Good, we'll call you back after we've gone through it."

They nodded and thanked the acting lieutenant before bowing and leaving the office. Matsumoto snapped out of her daze as soon as they backed away from the desk. "Have a good day you guys!" She called out as they closed the door.

Then turning on Toushiro with a grin like the cat that ate the canary she exclaimed; "You used their names!"

Toushiro rolled his eyes, "I looked them up as soon as they came in. I have to say it is rather useful to know what to call someone. Now I suppose you need help with all these numbers?"

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**Sooo how was it?**

**actually when you come to think of it, Toushiro really doesnt seem like the type of person to go out of his way to get to know someone, much less for two hundred people so I think he wouldn't know all the people in his own squad. As long as it didn't interfere with the functioning of his squad he'd be alright with it. Also I hope I didn't portray Toushiro as being too distant from his squad members because he really does care for them, and it is through his work ethic that he inspires them to work their best. I think this was said in some bleach guide or other. So I'm sorry if I made it seem like Toushiro did not care about his men, because he does. **

**Did I do a good job? Was it completely horrible? Tell meeeeeee**

**REVIEW PLEASE!**

**-Mymomomo**


	7. Day 4: Matsumoto

**As promised things start moving in this chapter, and the main conflict has begun! **

**Also I realized that there has been some confusion with the length of the bet, I've been confusing myself much less for you poor readers, but it is one week not two, no matter what i may or may not have said in previous chapters. Just thought I would clear this up, before there was anymore confusion. So if I say two weeks, just ignore me and know that I mean one week.**

**anyway enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: eye doo not ouhn Bleach...**

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There was a heavy pounding on the office door. Rangiku sighed, it was bearly twelve o'clock yet and already something had gone wrong. She glanced over to Toushiro who also was glaring at the door.

"Just let them in before they make a hole in the door." He muttered.

"Come in." Rangiku called out wandering who on earth had something that important to talk about that they had nearly broken down the door. She raked a lock of ginger hair behind her ear, she actually was not complaining about the disturbance, the paperwork she was doing was so boring that she thought she was going to lose her mind any minute now. But usually when someone knocked on a door with that vigour either they were really excited or something was really wrong. She would bet that something was really wrong.

The man that entered was panting as though he had just run across the Seireitei. Okay, something was definitely wrong. Toushiro had even put down his brush and was studying the man with the utmost scrutiny.

Matsumoto recognised him as their eleventh seat Arakida Eto. "What's the matter?" She asked.

As soon as, no even before the man regained his breath he blurted out, "Captain, Lieutenant! Some men from the eleventh division picked a fight with some of our men."

Toushiro growled and slapped his forehead. This happened way too often for his liking. But he had a gut feeling that this was not all that Eto had to say. And he was right.

"And not only have they injured four of our men, but they also damaged part of the main kitchen."

"What!" Toushiro snapped banging his fist on his desk, "Who's down there right now? And I want to know exactly what happened!"

"Third seat Ibuka and fourth seat Mazaki, sir."

So the third and fourth seats were already there. Rangiku smiled at the squad's efficiency, Toushiro really had trained them well. She glanced at the said boy, who had already summoned a hell butterfly sending a message on ahead. It was amazing sometimes to see him kick into captain mode, well he was usually already in captain mode but to see such precise decisions made by him in an instant and the way he barked out orders, was not something you expected from someone who looked ten years old. She summoned a hell butterfly herself, to request an audience with Captain Zaraki.

"Matsumoto, request an audience with Zaraki-"

"Already on it."

He nodded then turned back to Eto, "Let's go, you can explain what happened on the way. Come Matsumoto."

"I appreciate all of this, Toushiro, but aren't I supposed to be the captain?" She raised an eyebrow, the instant he had gotten wind of the crisis he had forgotten about the bet.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "Fine, lead the way, Matsumoto."

("\(^.^)/")

Well that was it for the kitchen wall. It had almost been floored completely on one side; the other side was crumbling down before their eyes. Matsumoto's jaw dropped. What on earth had happened? She knew that the eleventh was rowdy but this was ridiculous. It looked like they had taken a bulldozer to the wall. How the hell did a couple of unseated members manage that? She shook her head; at least the food stores had been on the other side of the room, as well as most of the cooking equipment. Only one of the stoves had been rendered useless. This was not good. Now this was yet another thing that needed to be repaired and she knew for a fact that the division could not cover the cost of it, this time around. And Toushiro would rather die than ask the Head-captain for a loan or anything. Speaking of Toushiro the small boy was silently fuming beside her.

His fists were clenched tightly and he had closed his eyes for a second. That was his tyring-not-to-shout-so-loud-that-people-would-be-able-to-hear-him-in –the-world-of-the-living pose, and boy did she know that one well. But before he was able to unleash the fury of his lungs she took matters into her own hands. She was supposed to be captain, wasn't she?

"Okay somebody is going to tell me what happened here." She ordered folding her arms across her chest and glaring at the few men who dared to stay behind. Toushiro stared at her for a split second before nodding in approval and going over to study the extent of the damage and see to the injured men.

It had all started as a minor disagreement between a few members of both squads. They were not even sure of the exact reason, something about the eleventh being too loud last night. And the eleventh, being the eleventh took it as a reason to start a fight. It was then Matsumoto discovered that it was not only the kitchen that was destroyed but also the wall that separated the tenth's grounds from the eleventh's. She could see the budget plunging into red numbers in her mind. So that was a stove they had to replace, the kitchen wall and now the boundary wall as well. In the back of her mind she just wanted to go drink a few shots of sake and forget about all of this, leave it to Toushiro to worry about, he was used to all of this stuff. Let the expert deal with it, because quite frankly she had no idea what they were going to do about this one.

The men of the eleventh that had caused the ruckus had long since left the battle scene. Thankfully though, she did not think she could deal with the eleventh's crap right at the moment. But now that meant she had to go sniff them out later, along with their captain, who should have been here right now.

"So let me get this straight," She said, rubbing her temples, only now she understood why Toushiro did this so often. "When you guys went over to tell the eleventh that they had been too loud and you had been unable to get much sleep last night, they told you to shove off and stop being such pansies?"

"Yes Lieu... Captain."

"And then you started the fight? Because from what I heard that, it was a few of our men that got violent first."

"But it was the eleventh that knocked down the wall and then moved the fight towards the kitchens, and destroyed that as well."

Rangiku sighed. Now she really was unsure what to do. Toushiro trotted back to her side with a scowl that could kill etched onto his face. "Lieutenant, what are the casualties like?"

Toushrio flinched at being called lieutenant but hid his annoyance well. "Four injured; two with fractured bones one in the left wrist, the other in the collar bone, one with a deep gash in the right side of his stomach and the last with a concussion. Our own medics will be able to take care of them in the sick bay; there will be no need to contact the fourth."

She nodded, well that was some good news, the not needing to contact the fourth. She turned back to the men, "Were any of the eleventh injured?"

"A few of them, Ma'am, but none as serious as our own men."

She chewed her bottom lip and turned to Toushiro. He sighed and decided that it was his turn to take over. Rangiku had no idea what else she was supposed to do in a situation like this.

"Alright," He shouted. There was still a lot of commotion going on and he needed everybody's attention for this. "I would like to meet with anybody who was there at the time of the incident in my office right now. Someone needs to bring the injured to the sick bay and someone else needs to survey the extent of the damage to division property and give me the report by tonight! Ibuka, Mazaki." He called out to the third and fourth seats. They were at his side almost instantly, "I trust that I can leave things here under your supervision?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Matsumoto, lead the way."

The ginger woman nodded. She didn't care what anybody else said, Toushiro was definitely cut out to be captain.

They both sat in the office. Toushiro was leaning over the lieutenant's desk with his fingers drumming against his temples. The last of the witnesses had left the office ten minutes ago. He had been taking notes as they talked to Rangiku. She wasn't sure, nothing like this had ever happened before, but this did not seem like regular protocol. Sure their division got into fights with the eleventh enough times for it to become regular occurrence, but nothing had been destroyed before. Injuries were common but the breaking of buildings was not. Usually Toushiro would reprimand the men who had gotten into the fight and everyone would be on their merry way. But now that was not the case. And right now she was seriously considering backing out of the bet, so she wouldn't have to deal with this. Damn Zaraki and his unruly men. Couldn't he teach them to contain themselves at least a little bit?

She shook her head and pulled out a copy of the budget report. They had a grand total of 5,000 kan left for expenditure. There was no way that that could cover the cost of the repairs. What were they going to do? Asking Head-captain Yamamoto was always an option, but she did not want to do that, and neither did Toushiro. Asking for more money was basically saying that they were incompetent as leaders since they could not even manage such a simple thing as money. Toushiro would sooner dance around division twelve in a pink tutu than ask Yamamoto for help. And she would rather give up sake for a month... no a week.

"So, Toushiro." She sighed, "What are we gonna do?"

He glanced up at her, "Well Matsumoto, once the report comes in saying how much damage has been done I'll... you'll see to it. If it's less than 5,000 kan then it won't be a problem."

"What happens if it's more?"

"If it's more then I'm taking the matter of with Head-captain Yamamoto. We're going to demand that the eleventh division pays for this."

She chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully, "Somehow I don't think Captain Zaraki will be willing to cooperate."

"I know, that's why you and I have to work together to plead the case to Yamamoto so that he will make Zaraki pay the cost."

"But it was our men that started the battle..."

He sighed, "I never said that this was going to be easy. We're going to have to do a lot of investigating and thinking."

She groaned that sounded like a lot of work. He raised an eyebrow at her not so enthusiastic response. "Are you up to the challenge, Captain?"

Her grimace turned into a grin. "When was the last time I ever turned down a challenge?"

He smirked and stacked his notes into a neat pile and placed them in the top drawer of his desk. "Good."

"So do you think we can do this?" Her silver-blue eyes meat with his blue-green ones. They held each other's gaze for a while. Rangiku knew that there was no backing down. When Toushiro got that look in his eyes; hell or high water he was not going to back down. And neither was she.

"We better." He stated. "Because I'd sooner dance around the twelfth division in a pink tutu than ask Yamamoto for money."

And boy did she know her captain well.

* * *

**Questions, comments, emotional outbursts?**

**Well I thought that it was high time that a situation came around that showed just how well Rangiku and Shiro can work together. They do make a darn good team except this time Rangiku is in charge... so this may or may not be a good thing.**

**Anyway, review with any comments you thought necessary. They will be greatly appriciated. **

**-Mymomomo**


	8. Day 4: Hitsugaya

**hehe don't kill me please... I said I was going to be really busy until My SATs were done didn't I? But anyway I apologise for the super long wait. **

**So in an attempt to have you guys put me back in your good books, here's the longest chapter I've ever written for this story (it was 6 pages in MS Word so yeah)**

**Disclaimed:... I honestly hope nobody thinks I own bleach... because I don't.**

**So enjoy this really over due update and try not to think about how long you've been waiting for it...**

* * *

Toushiro was exhausted. It wasn't a new feeling for him as he had spent countless nights on end in the office before. He knew what it was like to be tired. He also knew that the world did not stop just because he was too worn-out to function properly. He knew that he had to suck it up anyway and continue working like he was in tip-top shape. So he went on with his work like the dedicated little captain (pseudo- lieutenant) he was. But surprisingly he was not the only one in the office at the time. Matsumoto was sitting at her desk attentively going through some file or the other. He smirked for a split second before it fell. This was not the time to be smirking there was work to be done or he would end up dancing in front of Captain Kurotsuchi in a pink tutu. He shuddered, and turned his attention away from the pink frills and back to the division's budget report. He cringed at the red numbers and resisted the urge to bang his head on the desk. The report stating the damage done by the fight with the eleventh division had come in a few hours previously. He had gone through it almost seven times before passing it on to Matsumoto. Each time he had gone over it a small part of him had died. The western part of the kitchen had been rendered unusable. That meant that not only a new wall had to be built but the flooring and roof had to be redone as well. And that was only the structural problems, a stove, a few sinks and cupboards had to be replaced. Then there was piping to be done over since most of the water pipes leading to the kitchen were placed in that particular wall. Also the boundary wall between the tenth and the eleventh had to be fixed. There was a massive hole in it, big enough to fit a small hollow, where the fight had broken through. He groaned inwardly. There was no way that 5,000 kan was going to cover all of that. If his calculations were correct then the total cost to fix everything would be around 87,596 kan. He had almost fainted when that number had shown itself on his calculator. Even if he somehow got Zaraki to pay, it would still be doubtful that he would even have that much money to spare, especially since each division had a 150,000 budget per month. Most of the money went to the soldiers pay checks, but there were still other things to worry about. And after the soldiers got paid there was less than fifty percent of the initial amount left. Toushiro let out a breath of air in frustration, causing Rangiku to look up from her work.

"Did you figure out something, Toushiro?" She asked.

He shook his head, "I keep on coming back to the same conclusion." He muttered rubbing his forehead. "The total is 87,596; let's just say 88,000 to be safe. There is no way that Zaraki will be able to spare that amount, considering we even get him to pay for it in the first place."

Rangiku chewed her bottom lip in thought, this was a tough one, and "Well he doesn't have to pay all of it..."

Toushiro raised an eyebrow. "We're already in debt, Matsumoto, we only have 5,000 kan to spare... Unless... No never mind."

"What were you going to say?"

"I said never mind. I'm not going to consider it. It was way too mean, our men don't deserve that."

Rangiku sighed and raked a hand through her hair. She was frustrated with this whole situation and her head was beginning to throb. "You were thinking about cutting back on everyone's pay check weren't you?"

He sighed, "It's the only other option I can see. But like I said never mind, I can't do that, it's not fair to everyone else."

Rangiku frowned, "I agree it's not fair, but what other choice do we have?"

"We're going to have to ask for that loan after all." He might as well start looking for a ballerina outfit.

"Are you serious, Toushiro? If we go to the head-captain... I thought you said that that was a last resort. No one has asked for a lone in ages, especially not one of that amount."

"But we have no other choice. I'm not anymore thrilled about it than you are, but I'm not going to take from my own men."

Rangiku chewed the inside of her lip. "I know that this may sound harsh but we don't have to cut back on the salaries significantly... I mean we don't have to take a lot from them right?"

Toushiro raised an eyebrow, "You actually want to go through with that? You do realise that the men will attack you personally since you're going to be the one who signs their pay checks right? I agree that it is necessary, but-"

"There're no but's at the moment, Toushiro." Rangiku looked like she was having an internal conflict with herself.

Toushiro was surprised. He never would have thought that Rangiku would have decided to cut back on salaries. That meant that their own, too would be docked. It was a very responsible decision, he thought. A division in a sense was like its own country with the captain as the leader. They had to be self-reliant and function without any outside help. Only in drastic times of need would any country think of going to the International Monetary Fund for help. The Head-captain could be considered the IMF and no self- respecting leader would want to go to him. So the divisions liked to forget about the 'help' option and run things by themselves. Admitting to need more money from the head-captain was basically saying that the division was in chaos and the captain was weak and incompetent. If a captain was weak that meant his division was weak as well. So if Toushiro could have thought of anyway around going to the head-captain he would have. And what did a country do when it needed more money? It cut back on salary and increased taxes. The people for sure did not like it but it was necessary to keep the country afloat ... Except the shinigami didn't have to pay taxes, so cutting back on salaries it was. The captain would have to play villain for the day but so be it.

Actually, having Rangiku willing to be the villain was a surprise. She was the person who liked to stay on everybody's good side and was friends with the entire Soul Society. He hesitated.

"Matsumoto, are you sure you want to do this? I mean we can just forget about the bet for the time being and I could take the blame for this... the entire division is going to be on your back."

She scowled, "If you back down then I win. But the whole point of this was so I could learn what you have to go through on a daily basis,"

"But this isn't a daily basis thing."

She flapped her hand passively, but Toushiro could see that her will was faltering. "Doesn't matter. I'm the captain now so I'll take the responsibility. They won't stay mad forever, right?"

He blinked, maybe this bet thing had been for the best. But she did have a point. They wouldn't stay mad forever, especially since it was only for this month, and not everyone would be mad. There were some people that would follow their leaders blindly to the ends of the earth and then there were some others that did not like them, well him, in the first place. He sighed. "Fine I'm only saying yes because you want to go through with this. So cutting back on salaries would give us about... 25,000 kan. Plus the 5,000 that we already have brings us to 30,000. That means Zaraki would have to pay around 58,000. That's still a bit much, but more manageable than 88,000 don't you think?"

She nodded, "Actually I wouldn't mind giving up my entire pay check for the month. I mean, it is the captain's duty to take care of the squad even if it means paying out of my own pocket."

Toushiro couldn't help but let a small smile slip. He remembered telling her that some time ago. She was learning quickly. "Very well, that means so will I."

She smiled at him. It wasn't one of her usual I'm-happy smiles it was more of a gentle thank-you smile. He had to stop himself from blushing. Turing his head away from her he cleared his throat, he was getting soft.

"Anyway, I think I've come up with a good enough reason to coerce Zaraki to paying for the damages. Could you read it over by tomorrow-"

"Why are you blushing?" She cut him off noticing his reddened cheeks.

"I'm not. And here's my report-"

"Yes you are! Aww you're so cute! I just wanna hug you!"

His eye widened as she got up from her chair. "Matsumoto sit back down this instant, I'm not finished talking to you! And you will not _hug _me goddamnit!"

She giggled and came over to him anyway.

"I'm warning you, Matsumoto..." He growled.

But instead of hugging him she sat down on the desk in front of him, "How about we turn in for the night, huh, Toushiro? It's past twelve and I need my beauty sleep." (A/N: omg it sounds like she's trying to seduce him! It was completely unintentional by the way; this isn't a HitsuMatsu fic...)

He rolled his eyes, "You can go ahead, I want to go over a few things before I leave."

"Nope. I'm not leaving until you do and since I want to go now, that means you do as well." She folded her arms across her chest.

"Just go on, Matsumoto. I can tell you're tired." He sighed. She had been working pretty hard lately. And that was a huge change in the usual routine for her.

"And what about you? When was the last time you had at least eight hours sleep? That's unhealthy, and as captain it's my job to take care of my subordinates. So off to bed you go."

He stared at her for a short while a thousand and one rude things going around in his mind, before turning back to his work, "Just let me finish this, it's not going to take too long." He began to scan over the paper but only reached the second line before it was ripped from his hands. "Matsumoto!"

"I told you to go to bed. That's an order, Lieutenant. Or do I have to bring you to your room myself?" She smirked.

"Can't I just finish read it? It's not even half a page long!" He never thought he'd see the day when he had to beg Matsumoto to let him do his work.

"I guess I have to bring you then."

"What- Matsu- Whoa!"

He suddenly found himself plucked from his chair by his armpits and thrown over the ginger woman's shoulder, her arm around his knees so he wouldn't fall.

"Wow, Toushiro, you're heavier than you look." She exclaimed while walking through the office door.

"Put me down this instant! It's undignified and I'm not a child! Put me down!"

"Shush, before you wake up the rest of the division." She scolded.

He was silent, the last thing he needed was for someone else to see this. So he swallowed his yells and tried to ignore the fact that he was forced to stare at Ranigku's butt.

("\(^.^)/")

"Why, Matsumoto?" He groaned.

"Because I care about you, Toushiro."

"Well can't you find another way to care? You already brought me to my room, now leave!"

"Not until you change and get into bed."

"Well I'm not changing with you in the room!"

"Don't be so prude, I'm not going to see anything I haven't seen before."

Toushiro's jaw dropped and his face turned red. He stared unbelievingly at the woman sitting on his futon. There were a few moments of uncomfortable silence as the crickets chirped in the small garden outside.

Rangiku coughed and scratched the back of her neck, "Well this got really awkward really quickly. It was a joke, honestly... I'm not giving off the best image of myself am I? Heheh, I'll stop talking now."

"Yes indeed." He coughed and took a few deep breaths trying to fight the intense heat of his face.

But despite that she refused to leave until Toushiro was in bed. She mumbled something about him sneaking back to the office as soon as she took her eyes off of him. He decided to go to a different room to change rather than risking anything by doing it in front of her. He tried not to think about it but yet when he came back to his room his cheeks were still flushed with embarrassment.

"There, Matsumoto, look I'm changed you can leave now." The words died in his throat however, when he saw her fast asleep on his futon. She must have fallen asleep waiting for him. He sighed, she was just as tired as he was and what more he could stand it, but she hardly ever worked herself to exhaustion. Her body just did not know how to cope with it.

He went over to his closet and pulled out a few extra blankets. He debated whether to wake her up and send her to her own room or to just leave her there. But then he thought back to today's events and remembered how hard she had been trying to be a good captain. If anything she must be more worn out than him, but then if he left her there where would he sleep? So she shook his head and knelt down next to her. He shook her softly.

"Matsumoto?" He called out in a loud whisper. She stirred slightly but didn't wake up. He sighed so that decision was already made for him then. He gently lifted up her head and placed a pillow under it, brushing her hair out of her face.

He sighed, briefly wondering who was really taking care of whom. She had literally carried him to bed, but here he was tucking her in. It really was a funny world. He did not totally hate Rangiku she was annoying as hell most of the time, but he wasn't so cold-hearted as to kick her out of his bed. Despite general consensus he really did appreciate Matsumoto's, for the lack of a better word, mothering. Sure it was annoying most of the time; he was old enough to take care of himself, and for the most part he did not need her telling him what to do. But it was nice to have someone to look out for him every so often. In return he often wished that he could do something to show how grateful he was, without letting on to too much. Yeah, he should let her sleep. Since that was the only way he could tell her thanks. And plus he was proud of her for making such a hard decision today. He untied her tabi from her feet and placed a blanket over her. Now to find a place for him to sleep...

He spun in a slow circle observing his quarters. It was nothing too extravagant, a place for his futon and closet and a window. He was not big on decorating, and well frankly his bed had never been occupied by anyone other than himself. Sighing, he made a small nest like bed out of the other blankets next to the futon and nestled among the sheets. Matsumoto would owe him big time for this. So far she had managed to shove all her paper work on to him and now kick him out of his bed both without lifting a finger. He snorted softly, but that was probably the price for working with Rangiku. But anyway, he turned trying to find a comfortable spot, lying on a pile of blankets was not all that comfortable. He curled up on his side and closed his eyes to drift off to sleep. It had been a long trying day, and even though he loathed to admit it he was tired. He stifled a huge yawn but his eyes snapped open when and arm was suddenly draped across his chest. He groaned, of course she was be they type to cuddle in her sleep. He tried to push her off but all his efforts were useless, she slept like a rock and apparently felt like one too. Yeah, she definitely owed him big time for this. But then again it was a lieutenant's job to take care of their captain.

* * *

**Yeah so it may have seemed a little HitsuMatsu-ee at the end but I just wanted to show the reversed rolls. Since Rangiku usually takes care of Toushiro I had Toushiro taking care of Rangiku... that isn't too weird right?**

**Yeah I want to keep romance out of this fic for the most part, sorry to disappoint. **

**(gonna do a little self advertising here ^^) If you want romance check out my other fics: It's not you It's me and that thing in my head, and A matter of family and other things.**

**So, reviews will be greatly appreciated any and all feedback is welcome.**

**-Mymomomo **


	9. Day 5: Matsumoto

**Hi everyone! sorry for the long wait. tch school**

**Anyway summer's here and good news I plain to finish this story before I have to go back!**

**Anyway enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach**

* * *

Ranigku woke up the next morning smiling and ready to great the world. She stretched, opened her eyes then froze. This was not her bed room. What the hell? What had she done last night? She didn't remember doing anything. Had she been that drunk? But no there was no headache, no hangover, so that meant that she didn't get drunk. She was about to roll out of bed when she felt something move next to her. She groaned, who the hell was that? She threw of the covers to see a small figure nestled next to her hip using her stomach as a pillow. It was then the events of the previous night had com flooding back to her. She had brought Toushiro back to his room but had fallen asleep while waiting for him to change. She titled her head. She had expected him to wake her up when he got back and send her to her own room. She smiled, despite the way he acted most of the time her Captain was a big softie.

She glanced down at him again and had to suppress a squeal. He was so cute when he slept. One hand fisted the front of her shihakusho the other one was pressed firmly to his mouth. She didn't know he sucked his thumb. She reached down and ran her fingers though his messy hair. He woke with a soft sigh. Rangiku chuckled as he groggily sat up and rubbed his eyes. He looked around confused but when his eyes landed on her he leapt out of bed.

"M-Matsumoto!" He shrieked his eyes going wide.

She giggled, "You're so cute. Don't you remember last night?"

He scowled at her. The overall icy effect was ruined by his bed head. "I'm well aware of what happened last night. I was merely being nice. And I'm not cute!"

"Say what you want but that doesn't change the fact that you're my cute little Captain." She pulled him into a tight hug.

"Matsumoto! Let go of me this instant!" He struggled to free himself but Rangiku just held on tighter.

"I'm just showing my thanks."

"Well can't you just say it like a normal person?"

"Then, where'd be the fun in that?"

He glared at her. "Get out of my room."

("\(^.^)/")

The two officials of the tenth division made their way to the office a little later that day. Toushiro had a stack of papers in his arms while Rangiku was sipping a cup of green tea.

"I was thinking, Matsumoto, we could use the fact that the 11th is so rowdy against them. I mean they should have more self-control right?"

Rangiku chewed her lip thought fully. "But they could counter by saying that since we are neighbours we should expect things like this."

"True. But Zaraki should have more control over his men."

"He thinks fighting is good for character. He has his methods of training and everyone else had theirs. Sorry, Toushiro, but these arguments are pitiful."

He scowled. "I don't see you coming up with anything to help. But back to my first point, this has happened way too many times to be overlooked again. We could bring up all the eleventh's offenses against us. That should work in our favour."

"That makes sense. But I still get the feeling that Captain Zaraki is going to flat out refuse to pay."

"Oh, he is, Matsumoto, that's for sure. Anyway, I'm going to try to find out more about the battle today. Try to get some paperwork done."

"Aww , so you're not coming with me to the office today?" Rangiku pouted.

"Grow up woman. I have to drop off these papers first." He snapped shaking his head.

She paused. "What's on those papers?"

"Your work for today."

"Noooooooo!"

"I repeat, grow up."

("\(^.^)/")

Boring, boring, boring! Work was so boring. Rangiku balanced her ink brush between her nose and lips as she rocked back on the chair her feet on the desk. She had finished over half of the forms and thought she was going crazy. She needed to get away from this, but if she left the office, Toushiro would hear about it and she would lose the bet. But right now she was giving herself a well earned break. She had no idea how she was going to convince herself to do the rest of the work however. It was so boring that she thought that she was going to die if she looked at it again. Who cared about numbers? Who cared about statistics and inventory and other boring stuff like that? If she was head captain the first thing that was going was the paperwork. As long as nothing caught fire she considered her job well done. And there would be parties all the time and everyone could relax and there would be no deadlines! Imagine Toushiro in a world without deadlines. Maybe then she would get him to let loose a little. He was so uptight. It was like he constantly had a stick up his butt. But she was sure it was nothing that a little sake couldn't fix. She had considered spiking his tea more than once but decided against it when she thought of how much trouble she would have been in later. She chuckled, though, at the thought of a drunken Toushiro. Him a little tipsy was funny enough, but imagine him full out drunk. She would have to try that. She should have made it part of the bet. If she won he would have to go drinking with her. She laughed and unintentionally pushed against the desk. The chair tipped over and she went sprawling over the floor. Well that was dignified. She stood up thankful that she hadn't knocked down any papers. It would have taken forever for her to reorganise them. But now it was really time for a break. If she was falling over chairs because of too much work, things could soon become hazardous. She grinned as she slid out of the door.

The division was bustling as usual, Toushiro had trained everyone well. She was greeted with various bows and 'good mornings' as she passed by. She passed by the training grounds and was surprised to see the amount of people that were there. Almost everyone who was off duty was there. She smiled and blew a lock of hair from in front of her face. She might as well get in some practice herself. She was about to jump into the field when she spotted a young teenage girl standing at the edge of the field, a new recruit most likely. She looked nervous and a little scared. She probably wanted to train but didn't know how to start. Rangiku smiled and bounded over to her.

"Hi there!" She grinned.

The girl's dark eyes widened and she stumbled back a bit. She managed to bow, though, and mumbled a feeble greeting.

"I don't think I've seen you before."

"No, I just transferred yesterday."

"Oh, you're Abukara Mina, right? I singed your form! I'm acting captain Matsumoto Rangiku."

"Acting captain? Is there something wrong with the captain?"

"Nope, he's the acting lieutenant."

She looked confused. "Wha..."

"It's an experiment were doing. Anyway, what do you think of the tenth so far?"

"It's... um...different than the sixth."

"Have you made any friends yet?"

"Yes quite a few, but they're all on duty now. I just thought I would try to work on my sword work, everyone here is so bent on improving , but they all look like they're busy so..."

"I can help you!" She exclaimed dragging the girl into the middle of the training field.

"I um... are you sure? I mean you're a captain and all don't you have anything better to be doing?"

"It's the captain's job to make sure everyone in the squad is okay. So I am doing my job. Now, show me what you've got!"

Rangiku spent over an hour sparing with the girl and after that had helped a few other people as well. She only noticed how long she had been in the training field when the sun began to set and the daylight began to fade. She considered this to be a good day's work. She sheathed her sword and turned back to the soldiers that she was training.

"Alright you guys, I think it's time we call it quits, we've been here for the entire day!" As soon she uttered the words the air took on a distinctive chill. Slowly she turned around to see an irate Toushiro behind her.

"So this is where you were. I've been looking for you, Matsumoto. The paperwork isn't finished and yet here you are, fooling around." He narrowed his eyes and folded his arms across his chest.

"Are you speaking down to your superior, lieutenant? I could file that as insubordination."

His jaw dropped.

"Anyway, I was helping these people out with their sword work and skills, which is what a captain is supposed to do." She folded her arms across her chest.

He narrowed his eyes taking on the challenge. "Very well then, Matsumoto."

"And I've told you it's Captain!" She pouted.

"Don't patronize me, woman. It's time for you to head back to the office anyway." He turned and left.

Rangiku bounded after him. "See you later guys!" She waved to the others. "But the sun's setting you can't really make me start work now!"

"May I remind you, _captain_ that's it's your job. And you wouldn't have to go back to the office if you finished it like you were supposed to."

"I will not stand here and listen to you talk to me in such a condescending way. I am your captain!"

"Just how many times do you plan on using that card?"

"I learnt from the best."

"Shut up."

"That's insubordination, right there!"

"Matsumoto!"

"Just kidding, don't get your panties in a knot."

"Excuse me?"

Mina turned her squad members. "Are the officials always this..."

"Strange? Actually this was a quiet day for them. You should see them when they really get worked up, now that's something to watch."

("\(^.^)/")

Ranigku slumped over in her chair and pouted. She could not believe that she had ended back here. And now she had a slave driver in the shape of a pre-pubescent little boy standing over her. If she ever said that out lout she would be dead though.

"Come on Matsumoto, the only reason we did this bet was so that you could learn some responsibility."

"But I was being responsible! I did half the work then I helped some of our men train. Oh and I met the newest addition to our family! We are a family now that I think of it. You're like the dad... in a weird way, never mind the fact that you're younger than everyone here but still. And I'm like the older sister! We're one big dysfunctional family!"

"Matsumoto you're point." Toushiro sighed cradling his forehead. "See this is precisely what I'm talking about. You need to prioritise."

"Whatever you say, Daddy." She twirled the brush between her fingers.

"Don't call me that."

"Fine, party pooper. Anyway, I was saying that I met the girl who transferred from the sixth yesterday. She seems promising."

"Aubukara, was it?"

"Yeah! Toushiro, you remembered her name! You're getting good at this!"

He raised an eyebrow. "Of course I remember her name I filled out the freaking transfer form. And stop it you're distracting me. Get back to work!"

"Yes, Daddy!"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

* * *

**Some things never change huh, even as captain, Toushiro still has to force Matsumoto to do her work ^^**

**Review, its not gonna hurt :)**

**-Mymomomo**


	10. Day 5: Hitsugaya

**My second story to reach double digits! Celebration time. In honour of this I give you a slightly longer chapter ^^**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it. **

* * *

That was the shortest time that Toushiro had ever spent in the office. He had basically stepped in then stepped right back out. It was a record for him, usually as soon as he stepped in he was bombarded by piles upon piles of paperwork. It kind of felt good to not have to work. His celebration was short lived, however, when he remembered that the only reason he was not in the office today was because he was going to do some field work. That could be even more tiresome that office work sometimes. He sighed, there was no winning with this thing he called a job. He cracked his neck as he groggily made his way to the site of the 'battle' as he called it.

Last night he had barely slept a wink. Not only was Rangiku a cuddler but she rolled, she kicked, she did everything possible to keep him awake. Every time he had managed to find a comfortable spot and was about to drift off to sleep her foot was in his back or she was pulling him closer to her like he was a teddy bear. He had even woken once to find himself basically lying on top of her with her arms wrapped around his waist and neck. He shuddered at the memory. He had tried to get her to release him but she had just rolled over, effectively sandwiching him between her body and the futon. The sheets had muffled his yelp of surprise and he had been trapped like that for a good twenty minutes before her slumbering mind took interest in another sleeping position. That had been the worst night of his life. He was never sleeping with her again in his life. He paused and blinked at the sentence as he cheeks took on a light pink hue. Maybe he should have said that a different way. He was never sharing a bed with her ever again. Yeah, that was better. He coughed uncomfortably and continued on his way. He was not going to think about that, he had a job to do.

He neared the mess hall. It had only been a day since the fight with the eleventh division. Usually repairs would have been started by now, but since the squad was short on money... he sighed. That was the reason why he was here. He needed to compile evidence against the eleventh. Unfortunately, for him all the stories he had heard it was the tenth's fault. But still, how could they have broken through a wall, a wall that was three feet thick? None of the men involved had achieved Bankai and barely had control over their shikai, he had done his research. And there had only been a total of fifteen men involved, granted that nine of them were from his division. They had been punished accordingly. But things did not look good for the tenth. Every way he looked at it, it seemed that his division was the only one at fault. He reached the battle ground, and cringed inwardly. There was rubble strewed all over the ground. Broken bricks and concrete dust covered the area. The kitchen had been sealed off with old planks of plywood. The damaged equipment was stacked in a pile a little way off from the buildings. The metal objects were twisted to almost beyond recognition. He let out a puff of air, trying not to think off all the money that was needed to repair everything.

Three men were standing around the hole in the wall, making sure that no one caused any trouble around the now hazardous area and to prevent the two divisions from crossing over. The eleventh's men were always looking for a fight and the ever so convenient hole gave them access to over two hundred men to fight with. He had handpicked the men himself with Rangiku's help of course, based on their strength. He needed them to be able to stand their own against and to ward off any rebellious elevenths. He had chosen seats ten, eleven and twelve for the job. They had been doing their job well; there had been no reports of any elevenths sneaking in. However, that did not mean they didn't try to.

"Good morning Ayugai, Futabatei and Choshi." He nodded to the men as he came up to them.

"Good morning Cap- lieutenant. How are you today?" Futabatei asked while the other two bowed.

"I'm fine, thanks for asking. How are things going here?"

"A man from the eleventh gave us this a while ago. He said to pass it on to you." He held out a worn piece of paper.

Toushiro took it frowning and unfolded it. Scribbled on the paper in symbols barely legible was a short note. 'My office, three o'clock'. He sighed, that was just like Zaraki, so informal. He was sure that it hadn't even occurred to him to send a hell butterfly either. He sighed and pocketed the note. It was around one thirty so he still had an hour and a half to investigate.

"Thank you." He nodded to the men again and began to wonder around the battle site.

"Can we help you with anything, sir?"

Toushiro paused. "Ah, I'm just... um." He actually didn't know what he was looking for. Just something that would prove that it was the eleventh's fault and not the tenth's. Like how the hell they had been able to knock down that wall! It must have taken a lot of reiatsu to accomplish something like that. He paused, that was it. All he had to do was check for the reiatsu signature.

"I'm trying to determine who the one who knocked down the wall was." He said at length.

The men glanced at each other.

"Have you noticed any remnants of reiatsu around the wall or anything?"

"A little bit, but it's too faint for us to determine anything."

He sighed; of course it would have faded. Maybe he would still be able to tell though. He took a deep breath and tried to concentrate on the sprit particles in the air. He ignored the strong reiatsus of the three soldiers beside him. There was a faint hint of foreign reiatsu, but like the soldiers had said it was way too weak to ascertain anything from it. Toushiro swore inwardly but pushed his senses to their limits. He was going to find out who this reiatsu belonged to. Failure was not an option. The more he studied he realised that it began to get more concentrated, or it could have just been him. In fact there were traces of it not on the wall alone, but on the crumbled up bricks and even weaved into the dust. Actually he realised that it belonged to many different people, and not just one person like he had originally thought. He dissected the reiatsu in his mind. One part felt very hostile, it belonged to and eleventh for sure. Another part wasn't as hostile but it did emanate a thirst for battle. The last part he could discern was straight out feral. A few other parts were intermingled in the whole thing but they were so faint he could barely make out that they were there. He concentrated on the three prominent parts trying to expand them and make them more workable to him. They were all very sketchy, there would be no way he would be able to use them to pinpoint a person. He needed more out of them. He pushed himself to his limits and even further. It was like a small explosion in his mind because his head started to hurt like he had been hit with the blast from a volcano. He stumbled backwards as if he had been physically hit and so happened to trip over a rather large chunk of wall. He landed on his butt with a soft 'ooff'. A cloud of dust puffed up in his face. Well that had been a complete flop. He coughed and rubbed his head, the headache was not subsiding. So, apparently he could not stretch his senses that far. He would have to work on that.

"Lieutenant!" The three men cried out simultaneously and ran over to him.

"Are you alright?"Choshi asked kneeling down beside him.

Well this was embarrassing, falling down like he was a toddler learning how to walk. He waved off the man, "Yeah, I just lost my balance." That sounded pitiful.

Choshi looked at him doubtfully, but helped him up anyway and brushed some of the dust off his uniform. Toushiro raised an eyebrow as Ayugai and Futabatei gathered around him as well. He realised that they all looked worried and the ground was swaying a bit. He closed his eyes for a moment and felt a steadying hand on his shoulder.

"Are you sure you're alright, sir?" Ayugai asked.

"Yes, thank you. I just..." He actually wasn't sure what he had done, tried too hard maybe. "I'm fine." He finished lamely. They looked unconvinced. It was not normal for someone of captain stature to sudden 'loose his balance'. Toushiro sighed. "Could one of you send a message to Ma... Captain Matsumoto?"

"Of course, sir."

He asked them to locate her and to tell her that he would be spending the afternoon with Captain Zaraki.

("\(^.^)/")

Toushiro stood outside the eleventh division office at exactly three o'clock pm. As expected nobody was there. He sighed and tapped his foot impatiently. No wonder the eleventh division was so out of control. Their captain had no sense of responsibility. He would wait a little while longer though. Thirty minutes later he was ready to pull out his hair. How could someone be so late for a meeting they themselves had organised? He was leaning against the wall outside the office. The corridor was empty and there were no signs of life about. In fact there was a thin layer of dust like no one had come this way in ages. He could even see his footprints along the floor leading to the office. He felt a vein pop in his forehead and rubbed his temples. He still had a headache for earlier that afternoon. Why the hell would Zaraki tell him to meet him in his office if he didn't even use it himself? He ground his teeth and began to wonder away from the office. Where would that oaf be then? Training fields maybe, he was always itching for a battle.

When Toushiro finally located the training field he felt like punching something. Zaraki was lounging on the wooden patio looking on at his men training. What the... did he forget about the meeting or something? This was unbelievable. Toushiro marched straight across the training field not caring if he broke apart fights or threw off stances or just disrupted things in general.

"Zaraki!" He yelled once he reached the other side. "What's the big idea?"

The large captain just glanced at him. "You're late, by an hour."

"I'm late? I was waiting outside your office for half an hour. Where the hell were you?"

He shrugged. "I never said meet me at my office, I never use that place."

Toushiro resisted the urge to slap his forehead. "You said meet you at your office at three o'clock."

"Hmm, Yachiru, what did you write on that note?"

Toushiro's eyes bulged. The small pink girl poked her head out from behind Zaraki's shoulders. She had written the note? What the hell was going on in this division? Was there no one who took things seriously here?

"I told Whitey-chan to meet you at the office." She giggled.

"But we don't use the office." Zaraki stated.

"I know but it sounded more professional." She smiled.

How the hell had she made it to lieutenant?

Zaraki shrugged again. "Well there you go, Hitsugaya."

'There you go'? That could not be his response to this. He could not be so relaxed about the fact that his lieutenant didn't give a flying fudgesicle about anything. How did the eleventh even function properly? No correction, it didn't function properly. That was why he had a freaking hole in his wall.

"So what did you want to see me about yesterday?"Zaraki interrupted his inner tirade.

Toushiro took a deep breath the headache was becoming worse by the second. "There was a fight between some of your men and mine. The boundary wall was destroyed and so was my kitchen."

"And?"

"_And, the boundary wall was destroyed and so was the kitchen."_

"What does this have to do with me?"

"It was your men who did this; I believe it has everything to do with you, Zaraki."

"From what I hear, it was your men who started the fight." He absentmindedly picked something out from his teeth.

So he did know about what happened. "That's beside the point. The tenth is undergoing renovations at the moment and cannot afford to pay to repair these damages."

"So let me get this straight kid, you want me to pay?"

"Correct."

"Why should I?"

What? Toushiro raised his eyebrows. He clenched his jaw. "This has happened way too many times, Zaraki. I usually just overlook things like this and pay for whatever damages were caused but this... I can't pay for the damages this time."

"You should had thought of that before your men started that fight."

He blinked. "Or maybe you should learn to control your men better."

Zaraki sat up and glared at the white haired boy. "Are you telling me how to run my division?"

Toushiro took a deep breath. He had not come here to start a fight. He willed himself to calm down. "No, I'm not I'm just saying that-"

"Don't tell me what to do kid. I run my division just as well as you run yours. So you can't come over here and demand that I pay for something that wasn't even my fault."

"I told you I can't pay for it this time."

"Then ask Yama-ji for money, I don't care what you do. I'm not paying."

Unbelievable. Toushiro stared at the other man. Well, actually it wasn't that unbelievable, he had expected Zaraki to refuse to pay, but to disregard everything he said? He clenched his jaw. "This is just as much your fault as it is mine. You cannot refuse to pay."

He waved him off and stood up. "I just did."

"On what grounds?"

"My training grounds. Now get the hell out of here kid."

Toushiro planted his feet firmly against the ground and folded his arms across his chest. "I'm not leaving, until you-"

"Unless you fight me."

Was that his answer to everything? A fight? No wonder his men were so barbaric. Their captain was nothing less than an uncivilized, violent... gorilla. "I'm not fighting you, Zaraki." His head was hurting and things were staring to get really frustrating.

"Then I guess I'm not paying either." He shrugged and started to walk away.

"You cannot refuse to do this!"

"Either you draw your sword or you leave."

"I will do neither!"

Zaraki glanced at him over his shoulder. "Look kid, I'm not paying for the damage to your division. It doesn't seem fair to me. And unless you draw your zanpakuto you have no chance of changing my mind."

Toushiro's headache came on full force. He cradled his head in his arms. You know what forget about Yachiru, how the hell had somebody as unreasonable as Zaraki made it to captain?

"What the... Kid you better not be crying. What kind of sissy-"

He whipped his hands away from his head and shot Zaraki the fiercest glare he could. "I'm not freaking crying! And you will pay for the damages, Zaraki, mark my words!"

He heard the large captain laugh as he turned to leave. He was going to pay, no question about it. Once he took the matter up with Yamaoto, Zaraki would not be laughing so hard anymore. In that short visit he had noticed that a few men's reiatsu had given off the same feeling as the reiatsu attached to the wall. He would pinpoint the exact person and then Zaraki would wish that he had agreed in the first place. Now, he just had to find Rangiku and tell her what was going on.

("\(^.^)/")

She wasn't in the office. Of course, why would he ever assume that she was there? He sat down on the couch for a moment, his head was still pounding and he did not feel like going on a wild goose chase for an absent ginger. Her paperwork wasn't even finished either. He groaned and leaned over resting his head in his arms. How could this woman afford to be so carefree? He closed his eyes trying to abate the pounding in his head. That was the last time he was going to try to take apart reiatsu in his mind like that. It was like he had pulled a muscle in his brain. But then again maybe the lack of sleep last night had something to do with this as well. He did feel slightly worn out. He paused, oh what the hell, it wasn't like he had anything else to do for the day. He stretch out on the couch and closed his eyes. A few moments rest wouldn't hurt. He could look for Rangiku afterwards.

* * *

**Zaraki sure can be unreasonable huh? I hope I kept him in character, I'm not really sure how he would react to something like this, plus he's not really one of my favourite characters so I don't really pay him that much attention in the manga or anime. Hope I did him justice.**

**So We have two more days (In the story) until the bet is finished! Who do you think should win? Should it be a tie? Should Shiro-chan be condemned or Rangiku tortured? Hmm...**

**Review then?**

**-Mymomomo **


	11. Day 6

**Hi again every one! **

**I would have updated much sooner but things have been hectic even during my vacation -_-' Anyway this is the _big_ chapeter, the face off between Zaraki and the Tenth! dun dun dun.**

**Disclaimer: Disclaimed.**

**Enjoy ^^**

* * *

"What do you mean we're meeting with Yamamoto today?" Rangiku exclaimed.

Toushiro raised an eyebrow. "I meant precisely what I said. We have a meeting with Yamamoto today."

"But I don't even know the case we're pleading! I'm not ready to go up in front of him! I haven't even fixed my hair properly today." She tugged at her hair to prove her point and flopped over her desk.

The white haired boy rolled his eyes, "You look fine Matsumoto."

"You're just saying that. I'm not ready for this!" She moaned

Toushiro sighed. "Which is why I prepared this for you." He held out a piece of paper. "All you have to do is read it then you'll know everything."

She raised her head slightly. "When did you do that?"

"Last night. I knew I would be putting you on the spotlight like this so I prepared this beforehand."

She sat up straight and blinked. "Thanks."

He got up and handed her the paper. "The meeting is at four, so that should give you plenty time to go through it."

She sighed. "I don't see why I have to be the one to explain everything."

"Because you're currently the captain. Don't worry Yamamoto doesn't bite. And you can't possibly mess this up. Plus I'll be there ready to jump in if you need me."

Rangiku smiled softly. He was getting the hand of being lieutenant after all he was supposed to be support for the captain. She began to read through the paper. Toushiro had done a good job. He had written everything in short, easy to remember points. He had written down the reasons, the evidence, in fact everything she needed to tell Yamamoto, and all on a convenient eight by eleven sheet of paper. He must have known how nervous she was going to be. This would be her first time ever presenting something to Yamamoto. She was fine when it came to public speaking; she was a people person and loved talking. But she was not looking forward to doing this. She took a deep breath.

"Calm down, Matsumoto." Toushiro sighed leaning against the edge of her desk. He was facing away from her arms folded across his chest. There was a slight droop in his shoulders, but he sat more ridged than normal. It was hard to tell but Rangiku knew that he was a bit nervous about the whole thing as well. She grinned and ran the end of her brush down his spine. He yelped and jumped off the desk like he had a heart attack. He spun and glared at her. "What was that for?"

"You're just as worried as I am." She stated.

He snorted and rubbed his back, shivers still running up his spine. "Yeah, but the difference is I'm prepared."

("\(^.^)/")

"What is the meaning of this, Captain Hitsugaya?" Yamamoto boomed.

Rangiku wanted to shrink and attempted to hide behind Toushiro. It didn't really work out one; because Toushiro stepped to the side and two; she was roughly a foot taller than him. Either way, she was left out in the open for the head captain to glare at. He obviously did not approve of her and Toushiro switching places, or at least was baffled by it. Normally it would have been very comical to have confused the head captain. But now Rangiku was 'captain' she felt that somehow she was supposed to keep Yamamoto happy, or he would do unspeakable things. No wonder Toushiro was always so stressed out whenever she fooled around. He was the real captain; Yamamoto could fire him at a moment's notice.

She glanced down at Toushiro, who had bowed and began to explain why Rangiku was in a haori and he was wearing a lieutenant's arm band. She had to hide a smile this; was like formal Toushiro on steroids. He was even more uptight than usual. She paused; maybe she should be taking notes.

"Lieutenant Matsumoto and I are doing an experiment, sir." He explained. "She is to spend one week doing the duties of a captain and I those of a lieutenant."

The old man raised an eyebrow. "What for?"

He hesitated. He couldn't tell him that it was because of a petty bet made because he had gotten mad at Rangiku. "To... improve... teamwork... sir." Rangiku nodded, the boy was a genius for a reason.

Yamamoto looked slightly shocked but it looked like he was smiling. It was hard to tell with his mouth covered by all that beard and moustache. "That's a rather good idea, captain... I mean lieutenant. What better way to improve teamwork and understanding of each other than by placing yourselves in each other's shoes. I think some of the other captains should try this with their lieutenants. I commend you two for initiating this exercise; it shows that you want to push your division even further."

Rangiku sent Toushiro a surprised glance. She sometimes loved how people over analysed some things, and now she looked really smart... not that she wasn't smart. Toushiro nudged her in her ribs and she snapped to attention. He was bent over in a bow and was glaring t her irritably from the corner of his eyes. She quickly bowed down beside him.

"Thank you, Head captain." She said, hoping that it didn't sound too informal. She was not good with formal.

"Now I see that Captain-Zaraki is late again." Yamamoto sighed. The two straightened. They had sent a report ahead, so Yamamoto knew exactly what was going on. "It makes no sense waiting on him, he'll turn up eventually. You can start with your case."

Matsumoto froze. This was it. Everything was up to her now. She had spoken in front of Yamamoto before, she was a lieutenant, and it went without saying that she had numerous incidents where she had to speak to the head captain. But she had either been speaking in behalf of Toushiro where all she had to do was agree with what he had said before. All she had to do was build up on his argument and maybe add in a few points that he had forgot. That was nothing; she could do that any day. But now she was taking Toushiro's role. She swallowed and jumped slightly when Toushiro gently pushed her forward. She glanced back at him. He nodded curtly. It was his way of saying, 'go ahead, you can do this.' She nodded back and started.

This was a first for Toushiro. It was the first time he had stood back and let Rangiku do all the work. And she was actually doing a pretty good job. He had been sceptical when she said that she had memorised the sheet of paper only after reading it over five times. But she had. Her voice was flawless and confident, her eyes were determined, her back was straight and her overall posture was professional, heck powerful even. He had seen glimpses of this Rangiku from time to time in battle where she was serious and precise, or even when she was rebuking a subordinate... sometimes. It was like her normal flirty, rambunctious self had taken a hike and all that was left was this. He had to resist the urge to shake his head. If she was been so nervous and the end product was this, then he would love to see what would happen if she was confident from the start. If only she was like that all of the time then she would be the perfect lieutenant. Actually all of the time was a bit much even 45% of percent of the time would be a dream come true. She finished with a Rangiku-like flourish. He had to sigh; there was no hiding her true girly personality. He found himself chuckling quietly. Rangiku glanced back at him for a moment with a small frown. He nodded and she turned back around.

Yamamoto cleared his throat. "Why are you demanding that the eleventh pays for the damage to your division?"

Toushiro was about to open his mouth but Ranigku stepped in. Right, he was only supposed to speak when spoken to. He was the lowest ranked in the room.

"The tenth is currently undergoing renovations and all we have left for expenditure it 5,000 kan. We cannot possibly cover the cost of the damages, sir. And since the some of the eleventh's men had to do with the battle, it only seems fair that they help to pay for the damages." Rangiku answered immediately, she didn't even pause to think. Toushiro was beginning to think that he had been duped. He had spent quite a good deal of time last night preparing that 'help sheet' for Rangiku and had spent most of the morning going over it with her. She had convinced him that she had barely any idea what she was doing. Yet her she was not even making reference to the sheet and still doing everything perfectly. He wondered if she just liked to hear the sound of his voice.

Yamamoto nodded. "Even if the battle was initiated by your men? Don't you think that your division should be paying for your own actions?"

She paused for a split second. "Yes, sir, I understand that much and the men who were involved with the battle were punished accordingly. But from the evidence gathered, it could be determined that most of the damage was caused by the eleventh's soldiers. And it may have been our men who started the battle but it was only because the eleventh provoked them."

Toushiro wanted to slap his forehead. What had he even done all that work for? She certainly wasn't relying on what he had told her. Why did she always do this to him?

"A soldier is supposed to be above provocation. And it was still your men that started the fight."

"I do not deny that much, but these fights have been regular occurrences for as long as I can remember. The eleventh has caused significant damage to the tenth's property over the years and every time it has been overlooked. The tenth has paid for all the damages thus far, but this is the one time when we are not able to afford it."

"Regular occurrences you say. What has been the cause of the fights?"

"Mainly the loudness of the eleventh, sir. Our barracks are located near to the boundary between the divisions and our soldiers sometimes complain that they are unable to sleep. Also on numerous occasions a few of the eleventh's soldiers have crossed the boundary wall and instigated battles with our men."

"And have all of these battles taken place on the tenth's grounds?"

"Yes, sir. We have told our men countless times that it is forbidden to -"

Just then the doors to the meeting room burst open with a loud bang.

"Yay, Kenny we made it!"

The room's three occupants turned to see Zaraki enter with his miniature lieutenant on his shoulder. Toushiro refrained from rolling his eyes but swore internally. Everything had been going so well. Zaraki was bound to mess things up now.

"What did I miss?" He exclaimed walking up to Yamamoto as if it was regular protocol to be nearly an hour late for such an important meeting.

Yamamoto sighed, "We were finishing up Captain Zaraki." Toushiro raised an eyebrow and Rangiku looked worriedly back at him. They were? "But what do you have to say in your defence? It has come to my attention that you allow your men to pick fights with other division's soldiers."

"Of course, it builds character. And if the other divisions are to pansy to fight back then that's just better for me." Zaraki stated proudly.

Yamamoto blinked. "And has the tenth often been on the receiving end of this 'harrassment'?"

"Well they are the closest, besides the twelfth, and the twelfth is no challenge for my men. At least the tenth can put up a decent fight, even if they are sissies about it most of the time."

"I see." Yamamoto said. He stared at each of them for a short while. "I have made my decision. Captain Zaraki, you will pay the 58,000 kan needed to repair the tenth's kitchen and boundary wall."

Zaraki scowled, "I already told the brat that I'm not going to pay for anything unless he beats me in a fight."

Yamamoto sent a withering glance to the black haired captain. "You will do as I say, Zaraki, that is a direct order."

As immature as Zaraki was he knew that he should not defy the head captain, especially not to his face. So he settled for folding his arms across his chest.

Rangiku on the other hand squealed in excitement. Toushiro glared at her, she couldn't have held it in for a few more minutes? Unfortunately for him she saw him looking at her and bounded over to him. He knew what was coming before she even moved.

"Matsumoto don't you dare-"

"Did you hear that, Toushiro? We won!" She cut him off and scooped him up into her famous bear hugs. He instinctively struggled against her hold but soon realised that rather than shoving his head into his chest her arms encircled his back and his face was pressed against her shoulder. He barely registered his feet leaving the ground as Rangiku spun around in a circle. The hug must have lasted for less than a minute but it had felt like an eternity. Usually Rangiku hugged him just to see him riled up. But this hug was not meant to anger him. She held him tightly but not in a vice-like grip like she usually did. It felt kind of, dare he say it, nice. At the back of his mind he was aware that he wished Rangiku would hug him like this more often rather than glomming him every other chance she got. He would die of embarrassment if she ever found out, though.

There was the sudden and violent sound of someone clearing their throat. Rangiku instantly dropped him. It was a miracle that he somehow managed not to stumble when she released him.

"I appreciate your enthusiasm, Captain Matsumoto, but you two can do this on your own time." Yamamoto boomed.

Rangiku glanced at Toushiro with an apologetic expression on her face. Toushiro rolled his eyes. Yeah, a completely professional Rangiku was way too much to ask for.

("\(^.^)/")

"We won! Didn't you hear, Toushiro? We won! Now Zaraki has to pay!" Rangiku basically bounced down the street.

"Yes, yes Matsumoto, I was there. You did a good job by the way." Toushiro sighed dismissively.

She turned to him like a puppy that had just received a treat. "Really? You think so?"

"Of course, we won didn't we?" He refused to meet her eyes.

"Aww Taicho, thank you-"

She didn't get to finish as there was a flash of black and white and the jingle of bells. Suddenly there was only open air where Toushiro had been standing a few second previously. She blinked. What the... She turned around to see a rather large crater in the side of a building. Toushiro was slumped against the wall standing over him was Zaraki.

"I told you I'm not paying for anything until you beat me in a battle. I don't care what the old man says; you ain't getting any money from me." He boomed.

Rangiku ran up to Toushiro's side. Blood was dripping from a small cut on his forehead but other than that he was fine. She helped him up staring at Zaraki with contempt.

Toushiro whipped the blood from his face and glared at the larger man. "Don't be ridiculous, Zaraki, the head captain ordered you-"

"I don't give a damn about what the old geezer said. All I know is that I want a fight." With that he drew back his Zanpakuto and swung at Toushiro.

The zanpakuto was stopped but the boy hadn't even unsheathed his zanpakuto yet. The two captains froze for a second. In between them with her zanpakuto drawn and eyes filled with anger was Rangiku.

"Matsumoto, what are you doing?" Toushiro exclaimed attempting to push her aside.

She ignored him and continued to glare at Zaraki. "It's a Captain's job to look out of their lieutenant. If you attack him, you may as well face me."

Toushiro blinked. She wasn't being serious. There was no way she could take on Zaraki and live to tell the tale. This was one thing she couldn't match him in. "Matsumoto, stand down. That is an order. I appreciate all of this but-"

"I don't remember lieutenant's being able to give orders to their captains. You, stand down, _that's_ and order."

Toushiro frowned but stepped back. He would let her have her fun, but would step in if he had to. And knowing Zaraki he would have to. Standing down went against everything in his body, but he knew that when Rangiku got that look in her eye, there was no turning back. "I hope you know what you're doing, Matsumoto." He muttered.

Zaraki laughed. "This isn't what I was expecting, but you'll do." He slashed at her.

"Growl Haineko!"

("\(^.^)/")

Toushiro had watched the battle in complete awe. He had never actually sat down and watched Rangiku fight. Usually they were both fighting at the same time. And he generally did not have time to observe her battle techniques when he was in the middle of a battle himself. She was strong he had to admit, hence why she was ranked lieutenant. But still she was no match for Zaraki. He had tried to jump in on numerous occasions, but she kept on blocking him. So he ended up standing uncomfortable a few feet away shadowing her every move with his eyes. This battle was supposed to be his, if she got hurt he would not forgive himself. But the battle had turned out to be another example of how Rangiku made him worry for no reason. She may not have been stronger than Zaraki but she sure as hell could strategise better than him. She managed to evade his brute attacks and retaliate with some of her own perfectly executed manoeuvres. Toushiro found himself holding his breath. He should have set some rules. If first blood called the winner, then Rangiku would have won a long time ago. He was beginning to get agitated.

Zaraki laughed. "I like that look in your eye. You know what; I'll pay for the stupid damages." Both Rangiku and Toushiro froze. Zaraki was forfeiting a battle? He never gave up when it came to a fight. "I'm getting bored with this. Come back when you get stronger." He turned to leave. "Let's go Yachiru."

"Yeah, Kenny!" The girl's voice came from over his shoulder. "We'll play some other time, okay?" She waved at them before Zaraki literally took off.

Rangiku blinked confused and turned to Toushiro. "Was Yachiru on his back this whole time?"

Toushiro slapped his forehead. "Forget Yachiru!" He exclaimed. "You stood up to Zaraki! You idiot you could have gotten killed, or seriously injured. Don't you ever do that to me again!"

"Were you worried, about me?" She smiled sheathing Haineko.

He ignored her question. "What were you thinking?"

She stepped closer to him and ran a hand through his hair. "I was thinking that I had to protect my cute, little lieutenant, no matter the cost."

Toushiro rubbed his temples. "Matsumoto, you went up against Zaraki! Are you completely insane?"

She put her hands on her hips and pursed her lips. "I don't get why you're so upset, I got him to pay didn't I?"

"He got bored!"

"So are you saying that I'm not good enough, to stand up for what I want?" She raised an eyebrow and managed to scowl at him at the same time. That was the ultimate Rangiku's-upset-and-is-going-to-beat-you-down face. People said that he was bad when he was angry but an upset Rangiku was like hell.

He let out a deep breath. "No, all I'm saying is; think before you do stuff. What would have happened if you landed yourself in the fourth just because of some petty battle that I could have easily taken care of?"

"Um..." She paused and chewed her bottom lip. "Alright fine I was stupid." She threw her hands up in the air. "There's no pleasing you, is there, Toushiro?"

He chuckled, "No. But good work today, I was impressed."

She blinked, "That's no good you can't just say I was stupid then just cover it up with a complement like that."

"I never said you were stupid, Matsumoto." He sighed and started to walk away. "Now come on, I'll help you fix up those wounds when we get back to the office."

He glanced down at a rather deep gash on her forearm and grinned. She must have done something well to make Toushiro willing to take care of her. She skipped after him and when she was close enough she grabbed him in a tight hug from behind. He went rigid at first but relaxed soon enough. He didn't even fight her off for once. He just glanced at her over his shoulder and shook his head wearily.

"You're such a big baby some of the time, Matsumoto." He sighed.

"And you're always my Daddy!" She giggled back.

"Don't you start with that again." He hissed.

She giggled and squeezed him tighter before letting go and skipping off in the direction of the tenth. "Come on, Toushiro, let's not dawdle!"

He sighed and shook his head. That woman was going to be the death of him someday.

* * *

**Suckish battle? I know. I had no idea what to do with it though, I was originally not even going to describe it in the first place but my fingers have a mind of their own. Zaraki might have been ooc for that part. **

**And as for Yamamoto, I hope I didn't make him biased against the tenth. I tried to make it so that he was accusing them of not being able to control their soldiers enough to stop them from starting a fight. **

**Anyway, tell me what you think^^**

**-Mymomomo**


	12. day 7: Matsumoto

**Hello again my dear readers ^^**

**I'm happy to say that I'm finally back home! After seven months, it seems like ages though.**

**Anyway, enjoy the chapter cause we only gots two more before I'm done :)**

**This fanfiction has been disclaimed. **

* * *

Stomp. Stomp. Stomp. Stomp. A half asleep ginger woman stomped down the hallway to the office, knocking over everything in her path. She had gotten out of bed that morning by consoling herself that there was only one more day to this bet thing. Afterwards she would be able to sleep in a bit. She smiled inwardly, she couldn't wait for tomorrow. She stumbled all the way to the office and what do you know, it was locked. She put all her weight on the door trying to slide it open but it didn't budge. She groaned in frustration, Toushiro had the key. She had lost hers ages ago. So what was the reason she had even gotten up early for? The office was locked. She could be in her nice warm bed right at this moment but no, she had to wake up at this ungodly hour just to come to work... in the locked office. She rested her forehead against the cool wood of the door and closed her eyes. She was so tired, she couldn't remember the last time she had worked so hard for an entire week, and she hadn't even slept in once! Toushiro better be happy with her after this, because this was the last time she was waking up early every day. It was so exhausting-

"Matsumoto, what are you doing?" Toushiro's voice echoed in the empty hallway. She didn't even jump in surprise at his sudden appearance. She didn't have the energy to.

"The door's locked." She muttered.

"No it's not." He raised an eyebrow and to prove his point with ease he slid the door open... a few feet away from where she was standing.

Rangiku blinked stupidly. So what the hell was she standing in front of? She needed to go back to sleep or needed a big cup of strong coffee. She stumbled into the office and promptly plopped herself on the couch. She felt rather than saw Toushiro stand over her.

"You look like death, Matsumoto." He stated.

She grumbled. "I'm tired what do you expect."

He scoffed. "It's the last day. You can't possibly back out now."

"Who said anything about me backing out? I just need a few minutes more of sleep. Wake me up in a few."

She heard him chuckle quietly and followed the sounds of his light footsteps to his desk. "Sure thing, Matsumoto."

"That's _Captain _Matsumoto to you."

She snuggled into the couch. Toushiro had been more lenient with her these past few days... oh yeah, that because she was the captain. He was probably itching to tell her to get to work... or maybe not. She thought back to last night when he had personally tended to her wounds. She had never known him to be so gentle. The only person he ever acted like that with was Momo. She had sat on the couch while he knelt by her feet with medical equipment scattered around him. He had first healed her cuts and bruises with kido, but since he wasn't an expert they still had to be bandaged and cleaned out manually. She had been surprised at how small his hands were. They were as rough and calloused as any other shinigami's, but she had not expected them to be so small. And then she realised that they had never held hands before. He wasn't a touchy feely person and whenever she dragged him along on her whimsical adventures she usually grabbed on to his wrists. And so being Rangiku, she snatched up one of his hands and held it in hers. He stared at her with a raised eyebrow and his face read slight annoyance as his kido was effectively stopped.

"What are you doing, Matsumoto?" He deadpanned.

She grinned. "You're hands are so tiny! They're so cute!"

He scowled and roughly pulled his arm away from her. "How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not cute? And you better not be making fun of my size, I'm going to get bigger soon enough."

"And then you'll no longer be my cute, little captain but my hot, sexy captain."

The blush that spread across his face was absolutely adorable. She giggled in contentment. Teasing him was just too much fun.

"Shut up, Matsumoto." He growled. His actions became choppier after that, but he was still impossibly gentle.

"Am I hurting you?... Tell me if it hurts... Was that too hard?... Are you sure I'm being gentle enough?" Rangiku smiled at his questions and reassured him that he was being gentle enough each time. She was a warrior too after all; she could handle a little pain.

In the end he just scratched his head and grimaced. "Sorry, I'm just not used to doing this to other people."

Her smile had stretched from one end of the room to the other. In that one statement she had realised just how much he really did care for her. When she told him though, he denied it as if she had asked him if he thought of Momo as more than just a friend.

She sighed happily at the memory and shifted on the sofa. Yes, Toushiro was definitely getting nicer. She wondered what was bringing about the change but soon realised that her sleeping time was ticking away. She without delay put her mind into shut down mode. Minutes later she was fast asleep.

("\(^.^)/")

Rangiku awoke to something very cold and very wet being dashed all over her. She screamed and jumped off the couch. She somehow managed to catch her foot on the coffee table and tumbled to the floor. She landed with a thud on her butt. That was the worst wakeup call she had had ever. She raised her head and glared at the small boy who was standing above her with an empty glass in his hand.

"Finally." He sneered heading back to his desk. "I've been trying to wake you up for the past twenty minutes. You've had your rest, now get to work."

Rangiku got to her feet and wrung out her wet hair. "Toushiro, what the hell? Everything's wet now. Just how do you expect to dry that couch? And I'll have to go change before I'm able to start any work."

He glared at her over his shoulder. "You set one foot out of this office, Matsumoto, and I'll kill you. Get to work."

She shook her head. "In-sa-bor-din-a-tion." She sang and skipped over to the door. "I'll be right back, lieutenant."

She could tell that he was bristling with anger and actually heard the air crackle around him. "Matsumoto, get back here this instant. You've slept for two hours and there is a ton of work to be done."

"Great, you can get started then-"

"MATSUMOTO!"

She giggled. "Relax, Toushiro, I was joking. Just get me a towel and a cup of tea then I'll get started right away." She skipped over to the desk and sat down obediently. She smiled up at him. He looked like he was going to explode. But he took a deep breath and slowly headed over to the door. When he passed her desk she could have sworn she heard him chanting under his breath, 'one more day'. She hid her smile by pulling a pile of papers towards her. He was ready to crack, and that meant that she was going to win.

Toushiro shut the door a bit harder than necessary. She winced at the loud noise. She pulled out a brush and ink pad from the drawer and began to read through the files. So, she was signing the pay checks today. She sighed as she noticed the noticeably lower number written on it. That one had been her fault. The men were not going to be pleased about this. How would they react? Would they hate her for it? Would they start a riot? But in her defence it had been necessary. The tenth would have gone into red numbers if she hadn't decided to cut back on their pay. And neither she nor Toushiro was even getting paid that month. She blew a lock of hair out from in front of her face. She still felt bad for doing this though. The men didn't deserve to be punished like this. The only ones that should have been punished were then men who had been involved in the fight. They should not be getting paid at all. It wasn't fair to have every single person in the squad pay for it as well. But then again, as Toushiro would have said, life isn't fair. So she took a deep breath and signed her name and put the check into a new pile. Great, now she only had to do it 237 more times. Hold up, she had to sign her name 237 more times and feel bad for each one of them. She raised an eyebrow. Scratch that, hell she was feeling bad for them. If anything they should come up to her and thank her for do such a tedious job. Their pay deserved to be deducted for having her go through 238 checks and sing them all. She huffed. Two down 236 to go. This was going to be a long day. Maybe she could use her captain-y powers and make Toushiro do it for her. She instantly discarded the idea. She had one more day to go; she was not going to ask for his help.

Three hours later her hand was cramping but she only had four more to go. She was jumping up and down inside. If that didn't make her feel accomplished then she didn't know what would. There and... done!

"Yes!" she exclaimed jumping from the chair and pumping her fist in the air. "In your face, paperwork. Matsumoto Rangiku has once again come out on top!"

The papers did not move or even react to her outburst. She sighed, what did she expect, they were just papers. "Look at yourself, Rangiku," she muttered. "See what working too hard does to a person? This can't be good for you."

She fell back into her chair. It did feel good to be done with all of that. Now she felt sorry for the poor sucker that had to fold them all and put them in envelopes. Actually, now that she thought about it, who did put the checks in envelopes? By right, that should be the job of the lieutenant. Ha, Toushiro was going to have so much fun with that. She had always run away when pay time came around. She had forgotten why but now that she remembered she was glad that she made herself scarce. Signing her name was bad enough but to have to meticulously fold each paper and then put them into envelops was talking monotonous to a whole new level. Poor, poor Toushiro.

Speaking of the boy; where was he anyway? He had left three hours ago to get her tea and towels. The tea and towels had come back but just not with him. Hmm, she had never thought him one to shirk his duties. That must have meant that he was doing work outside the office.

But anyway it was almost two o'clock. That meant that she only had a few more hours until the work day was done. She may as well start celebrating! A party was definitely in order. She should put in an order for sake, and a few snacks. This was going to be so much fun!

She summoned a hell butterfly and gave it several instructions. Food and sake had to be prepared, the soldiers had to be notified, the grounds had to be tidied up, and so on. She giggled in excitement and bounced up and down in her seat. And since she was still captain for the day, Toushiro couldn't punish her for doing this. Her grin grew even wider and she started to bounce from side to side. She couldn't wait for tonight- oh shoot. Her hand had knocked over a stack of papers. She huffed and bent over to pick them up.

"Hmm, what's this?" She asked herself. She hadn't even noticed that these were on her desk. "Money transfer form... Oh, damn."

Those were kind of important. She rubbed her temples and placed the files back on top of the desk. Now this was going to take forever to complete. The entire thing was made up of three files, each around seven pages long. They stated the grounds on which the transfer took place, the rules and regulations and everything the money could and could not be used for. She had to sign at least ten different areas and Zaraki had to go through it as well. It already held Yamamoto's seal of approval so that was one thing she could forget about. She took a deep breath; might as well get started now.

("\(^.^)/")

Rangiku flitted around the party that night with a cup of sake in her hand. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. The noise from people chatting and the music was exhilarating to her (ever since Ichigo had introduced her to cd's and stereo systems the Soul Society had a music revolution). She smiled; it was good to see everyone take it easy like this. She needed to plan more parties more often. Everyone looked like they had lost five years in an instant. It was good to see them not busy with jobs or assignments. Everyone needed to let loose and have fun once in a while. And this had been a pretty draining week, and not just for her. Everyone had extra duties due to the renovations taking place. And the battle with the eleventh had affected every single person, not just with their pay checks. Though, Rangiku thought that she pretty much made it up to them by throwing them this party. She had more or less finished the sake stores in the kitchen for this party. They in face owed her. But whatever, she was going to have fun tonight. It was the last night of the bet and since she had complete jurisdiction over her party pooper captain, she was going to go all out. She pulled her hair behind her ears and stepped into the middle of a throng of dancing people.

A bit later Rangiku splayed herself on a blanket. She had been dancing for nearly two hours. She needed a short break before she jumped back in. During the three hours the party had been going on for she had made her way around the entire area and talked to everybody there. She had lost count of the amount of people she had danced with, though it had to be somewhere above twenty. She had had at least six cups of sake, but was only slightly tipsy, thank you. Basically she was having the time of her life. Parties were Rangiku's natural environment. If the world was a party she would be the president. She lived to have fun. Just as she thought this she jumped up from the blanket and grabbed a man who was uncomfortably standing to the side to the dance floor. She could not have this, every single person was supposed to be enjoying themselves. Within minutes he was laughing and smiling along with her. This was just way too much fun. Soon enough she found another woman to dance with the man and she flitted around the dance floor once again. Drink, dance and repeat; so went her night.

She decided to give her feet a little rest when she noticed that she had been running around for nearly an hour more. It had to be around eleven by now. A few people had gone home and a few people were just starting to come. She knew the party was going to run like this until wee hours of the morning. Tomorrow was going to be hell for everybody. She had had a few more drinks and there was a slight buzzing in the back of her skull. She sighed and leaned against the drink table. What a night. This was the first time she had so much fun in the division. Toushiro forbid her to organise such parties, though they did have some once in a blue moon. And it was just as she expected. The white haired boy had not even showed his face. No, actually what she had really expected was for him to come barging in, yell at her for dong this behind his back and possibly tell everyone to go home. His absence was odd. She began to wonder where he was. She hadn't seen him since that morning and he could not be working still. He had finished all his paperwork and as far as she knew he didn't have anything else to do. She poured herself another cup of sake and sat down on one of the blankets at the edge of the dance floor. Minutes later she was up and dancing again.

Around thirty minutes later she halted her dancing when she felt a familiar icy reiatsu approaching. So he had decided to come after all. Well at least she got a few decent hours of having fun. She skipped away from the dance floor and waited for him by the entrance. Maybe she could convince him not to end the party as soon as he got there.

Toushiro appeared next to her with his arms folded across his chest and his lips set into a thin, angry line. But before he could berate her, she was going to squeeze her last few moments of being captain dry.

"And just where have you been for the entire day, lieutenant?" She asked folding her arms across her chest in fake displeasure.

The look on his face was priceless. He had come expecting to shout at her but she had berated him instead. Oh how the tables had turned. Rangiku just laughed showing him that she was joking and thrust her half empty cup of sake into his hands. He looked down at it confused.

"You better not be expecting me to drink this." He scowled.

"I am. And I order you to have fun tonight, so drink up." She grinned as the oddest more disbelieving expression crossed his face. He couldn't refuse a direct order, and she had ordered him to down a glass of alcohol.

"I can't believe you're making me do this." He grumbled but otherwise made no move to drink anything.

"Come on, Toushiro. I just want you to enjoy yourself for once. Let loose, live a little! Is that so wrong?"

"What if I don't want to? I've seen the thing you do when you're drunk and I have no intentions to follow."

"You're not going to get drunk from half a glass."

He shot her an exasperated look but hesitantly brought the cup to his mouth. He glared at the clear liquid inside the cup like it was a hollow going to attack him. Then ever so slowly he tilted it towards his lips. He took a deep breath then tilted it the rest of the way. Rangiku chose that moment to pounce. She tapped the bottom of the glass causing the sake to jump up into his face. Toushiro immediately jumped back coughing and spluttering sake dripping down from his face and soaking into his kodose.

"What the hell, Matsumoto!" He yelled wiping his face.

She was laughing so hard her stomach started to hurt. "You should have seen your face!"

"I'm gonna kill you." He growled.

Ordinarily she would cower at his tone but tonight she was feeling extra playful, or it could be the alcohol in her system. "You're going to have to catch me first."

She jumped into a shunpo and disappeared from the party area. She actually had no idea where she was going but to hell with that. She was having fun and that's all that mattered. She grinned when she felt an icy wind blow by. That meant that Toushiro was following her. Maybe she could get him to loosen up tonight after all.

* * *

**Ha I love doing that drink thing to people. It's hilarious, especially when they're drinking from bottles. And of course Rangiku would have thrown a part to celebrate her finished week of work, even though she doesn't if she's won yet.**

**Next time we'll deal with where Toushiro went missing for the entire day. Hmm Rangiku is really growing on him, don't you think?**

**Review please ^^**

**-Mymomomo**


	13. Day 7: Hitsugaya

**Hello again people! So guess what, only one more chapter left! And that means that this is going to be my first completed more than two-chapter fic!**

**cause for celebration, I think. And thanks for all the lovely reviews ^^**

**Anyway, enjoy the one before the last chapter ^^**

**Disclaimer: Bleach is not mine...**

* * *

Toushiro tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for the water to boil. Rangiku was beginning to take advantage of him. He sighed; he knew it was bound to happen sooner or later. He was just lucky that it was the last day and he didn't have to deal with her ordering him around for much longer. Actually, he began to wonder what good had the bet done for her anyway. She was still as lazy as ever and reluctant to work. He shook his head; it made no sense crying over spilt milk, what was done was done. Either she had learned from the experience or she hadn't. He turned back to the water but was unable to deter his thoughts. She had been performing very well for the past week but he had a nagging feeling that next week she would go back to her lazy, useless self. You can't teach an old dog new tricks, or rather you can't stop a cat from napping all day and being generally ineffectual.

The water was boiling now. He sighed for what must have been the hundredth time that day and poured the steaming liquid into a cup with tea leaves. He leant back against the counter and waited for it to steep. What else had she told him to do? Make tea and... get towels. He rolled his eyes. Okay so maybe that one had been his fault, but Rangiku did not know what a heavy sleeper she was. There had been no other way to wake her. She could have slept through world war three and swat away missiles like they were nothing but mosquitoes. He chuckled; he could actually picture that happening. He saw Rangiku sleeping in the middles of a battle field like a baby in a cradle. Chaos and destruction all around her but yet she was unscathed. How did she manage to do that? Like every day in the office he was up to his nose in paperwork and had to go nights without sleep to catch up on the backlog of work and she would waltz in like she had just stepped off of a movie set. Who was he kidding? She wasn't meant to work. Just one look at Rangiku and he should have known from the beginning that she was not the working type.

He strained the leaves from the tea and added a few spoons of sugar. In his opinion sugar ruined the taste of the tea, but Rangiku liked sweet stuff. He huffed and put the cup on a tray before going in search of a towel. He growled softly, that meant a trip to the laundry room was in order. The things that woman made him do. He fished out a fresh towel and threw it over his shoulder lamenting over the fact that he probably looked like a waiter at the moment. At least there was nobody around to see him like this.

"Excuse me, Lieutenant."

He winced, damn it all. Letting out a deep breath he turned to the speaker. A young woman with jet black hair pulled into a bun, doe-like eyes and naturally flushed cheeks stood behind him. Kato Chisuzu, he thought back to her file. She was working very hard to gain a promotion from what he had understood. He liked that very much.

"Good morning, Kato." He greeted. "What can I help you with?"

She gave a quick bow. Despite her meek appearance she seemed rather outgoing. "Good morning, Cap... Lieutenant. I was just wondering, if you weren't too busy today, if you could help me with some Kido, I've been having a bit of trouble and maybe you could help me correct it."

He hesitated for a moment. He couldn't remember the last time he had worked one on one with his soldiers. And now that he thought of it that was probably not a good thing. But did he really have the time to do this? Rangiku should be signing the pay checks now and then he needed to fold them and address the envelops. And knowing the ginger she would most likely need his help filling out the money transfer forms as well. But, he did need to spend more time with his subordinates. They needed someone they could relate to and not just a figure head. And unfortunately he had been a figure head for quite some time now. That settled it then. The work could wait. Kato was going to be his priority this afternoon.

"I'll help you, Kato. I just need to bring these to Matsumo... the captain, and then I'll be right with you-"

Before he had even finished the girl had grabbed the tray and towel from him. Her eyes had lit up like a child's on Christmas morning. "Let me do that for you, Lieutenant." She grinned. "I'll be right back."

Toushiro scratched his head. "Well, I'll meet you at the training fields then..." He trailed off when he realised that he was talking to thin air. As he sauntered towards the training fields he wondered if it was normal for someone to get so excited just because he had agreed to train with them. Maybe she wanted to improve herself that much, or maybe she was just weird.

("\(^.^)/")

"So, what do you need my help with exactly?" Toushiro asked Chisuzu. They both faced each other, standing near a corner of the training field.

"I've been working on my Hado recently, I know all the chants and everything but I just can't seem to get it right."

He raised an eyebrow, "Yes, but are you talking about Hado in general or just a few spells?"

She averted her eyes. "I've mastered the spells up to the seventies but I can't get ones higher than that."

Toushiro blinked. Then he blinked again. "You've mastered the spells up to seventy?" He couldn't have possibly heard her correctly.

"Yes, sir."

He wondered if Momo had secretly been giving her Kido lessons. She was an unseated soldier but knew as much Kido as his fourth seat. He scratched his temple. "Kato, you don't need my help with Kido. If you truly have mastered up to seventy then you're already in a good position. In fact why don't you give me a demonstration, no chants if you're able I don't want the training grounds to be ruined."

She nodded and began. Toushiro stood to a side as he watched her fire various Hado and Bakudo spells at a target a few meters off. She really had perfected the spells. He wondered why she wasn't a seated member if she was so good at this. When she finished she turned to him expectantly panting slightly.

"Very good. No, excellent." He cocked his head. "You definitely don't need my help with Kido."

She seemed disappointed. "I was hoping that you could teach me some higher level spells."

"But why?"

"I want to be a Kido specialist. The squad needs them right? I've been working really had too."

He knew that look. The girl was driven by pure determination. He liked that. And yes the squad really did need a few more Kido specialists. He had made a mental note some time ago that they had more than enough front line fighters and needed a few more soldiers for support and defence. But with that kind of Kido, Kato could easily become a specialist. Actually, if she did learn the spells above seventy she could soon be in charge of the specialists. Maybe that's what she wanted. He shook his head, who was he to deny her progress.

"Okay, Kato, you've proven you're point. Where should we start then?"

Her eyes lit up and she clapped her hands in excitement. "Thank you so much, Captain. I promise you won't regret this. I was working on Hado 73; Soren Sokatsui. But when I try it instead of two shots of blue fire it's just one big one that I can't control properly."

His eyes widened. "Maybe we should practice this somewhere else?"

They found an underground cavern an hour's walk outside of the Seireitei. Toushiro didn't want to take any chances. The tenth couldn't afford to cover anymore damages.

("\(^.^)/")

The two shinigami emerged from the cavern when the last rays of light began to disappear from the sky. They were both tired, sweaty, and covered in dirt. Toushiro's kodose was signed on the sleeve from when Kato had lost control of one of her spells. The girl had worked herself to the bone that day. If Toushiro hadn't stopped her she would have still been going. That was her fault, he noticed that she would push herself too hard and she got upset with herself when she couldn't get something. He had been extremely patient and kept on reminding her that this Kido was way too advanced for a regular unseated soldier. But her drive to improve impressed him. He had never seen someone maintain concentration for that long or be so willing to learn. These were the little things that made being captain all worth it. He needed to spend more time with his men. He hadn't been so tired in a while but neither had he been so gratified either. Kato had managed to learn three more spells and perfect two of them to a T. She had gotten Soren Sokatsui down packed, as well as Bakudo spells: 75; Gochūtekkan and 73; Tozansho. She was ecstatic about her progress that day. Toushiro thought he smelt another Momo emerging. With enough time Kato might give his older sister a run for her money.

They both made their way to the bath houses. Toushiro decided that he would freshen up a bit before heading back to the office to get started on some work before the day ended. Kato said she would turn in for the night as she was beyond exhausted. She thanked him a million more times for helping her that day before they parted ways; her into the female bath house and him into the male.

Toushiro stood in the doorway for a moment blinking stupidly at what he saw. He knew that it was the end of the day so he expected the bath house to have a bit more people than normal, but this was ridiculous. It was like he had walked into a spa offering a discount or something. Was it male bonding time? Had he missed the memo? And why the hell had they chosen to hold it in the _bath house_ of all places? He coughed uncomfortably; this had to be the worst location they could have chosen for this. Rangiku must have been the one to approve it. He sighed; he was still going to take his bath though. He was way too sweaty and dirty to even considering starting to work.

He made his way over to the changing rooms and discreetly as possible undressed. But it was like he had a blinking neon sign over his head. A thousand and one eyes turned in his direction and every single one of their owners tried to start conversations with him. He tried to be as polite as possible in this extremely awkward situation. It wasn't his fault if he wasn't as confident with his body as some of these men. He wrapped a towel around his waist as quickly as he could and almost sprinted to the showers. Thankfully he was left alone for the most part as he washed off his body. But as soon as he sank down into the bath his peace was disturbed. At least his body was hidden by the water this time.

"Are you getting ready for tonight as well, Capta... Lieutenant?"

Toushiro cocked his head. He was getting ready to work that was for sure, but somehow he knew that wasn't what this man meant. "What's happening tonight?"

The man's eyebrows shot up into his hairline. "I thought you knew already, sir. The entire squad knows."

This had Rangiku written all over it. He gritted his teeth. Well, there went any hope of him having a peaceful bath now. "What is happening tonight?" He repeated, anger bubbling to the surface.

"Lieutenant, I mean Captain Matsumoto organised a party for the squad. It starts at nine everyone is expected to attend... Um, Lieutenant? Y-you're making the water cold."

That woman! Did she enjoy making his life difficult? Did she _want _to kill him at an early age? He covered his face with his palms and tried with all his might not to sink down under the water and remain there for the night.

("\(^.^)/")

Toushiro stomped into the office. He needed to retrieve Hyourinmaru before crashing a certain party and murdering a certain lieutenant of his. He left her alone for one day and she threw a party. Her newest nickname for him came back and hit him in the face. He really did feel like her parent, now. He left her alone and she threw a house party; typical teenager, except she wasn't a teenager, she was a fully grown woman.

He grumbled and began to look for Hyourinmaru. He had left him in the office when he went to make the tea and since he hadn't been back to the office for the day the zanpakuto should still be there. Once he found Hyourinmaru, Rangiku was going to get it. How could she go and do something like this behind his back? He had entrusted her with his division and she had gone and thrown a party. He paused, he really did sound like a parent. That Rangiku... now where had Hyourinmaru gotten to? He could have sworn that he had left him by his desk. He checked up the couch, the supply cupboard, everywhere. And then finally, there he was hanging on the back of Rangiku's chair. How could he not have seen that in the first place? As he unhooked the green sash from the chair back a thick stack of paperwork caught his attention. Had Rangiku even tried to do the paperwork before she pranced off to her so called party? Most likely not.

He rolled his eyes and sat down in the chair, pulling the stack of papers towards him. They were the money transfer forms, he realised in an instant. With growing dread he opened it up to the first page only to find out with a jolt in his stomach that Rangiku's name was clearly signed in the indicated area. His eyebrows leapt up. So she had attempted to do some work. He flipped through the rest of the document expecting her signatures to stop at any given moment but they didn't. He reached the end and had not noticed anything incomplete. She had done a thorough job, for once. He blinked in amazement. She had actually finished her paperwork without him breathing down her back. And he hadn't even frozen her to the chair, or threatened her or anything. She had done it by herself, with no prompting at all. Maybe he did underestimate her sometimes.

("\(^.^)/")

Toushiro decided to give her a few hours of party time before he would storm in to yell at her. And when he did make his way to the party Rangiku had cornered him by the entrance, managed to scold him and douse him in a glass of sake. Like he said, she was trying to kill him. He had chased her around the division for nearly twenty minutes. He did not even know why he was following her in this childish game. It had been instinct, she had run and he followed. But he didn't deny that it was foolish. Plus he was tired from this afternoon's training with Kato. She eventually stopped on the roof of the sick bay and plopped herself down on the edge with her legs dangling over the side. She glanced back at him and patted the spot next to her. He sighed but went over to sit next to her anyway. They stared up at the stars in silence until Rangiku spoke.

"So, how was your day?" She asked brightly.

He sighed and rubbed his head. Even his hair was wet from the sake. "You know, Kato Chisuzu, right?" Rangiku nodded. "She asked me to help her with some Kido spells this afternoon. Matsumoto, the girl knows just as much Kido as our fourth seat. If she wasn't an unseated member I would appoint her the leader of the Kido specialists. She's almost as skilled as Hinamori."

"Then why don't you?"

He paused. "Her sword work isn't the best around and her Shikai hasn't been developed fully."

Rangiku grinned. "So, you spent the entire day with Chisuzu?"

"Yeah, helping her with her Kido, I just said that."

"Oh, that's not what I heard people saying at the party." She wiggled her eyebrows.

He growled, stupid rumours. Didn't people have anything better to do to occupy their time? "What? Actually, I don't even want to know what you heard."

"Well, people did see you disappear with a girl then coming looking all sweaty. Gossip travels fast around here you know."

"Well whatever you over heard was false. I helped her with her Kido and that was all."

"Are you sure?"

"What? I'm not having the conversation with you, Matsumoto. Why are you even asking me this?"

"Because, Toushiro, I want to be the first to know if anything like this does happen."

"Why?"

She blinked like the answer was the most obvious thing in the world. "Why? Because we're best friends. We're supposed to tell each other things like that."

He cocked his head. Since when were they best friends? Partners maybe, he would even go so far as to call her his good friend, but best friend? He stared at her puzzled. "Since when am I you're best friend?"

She put her finger on her bottom lip in thought. "Forty-seven years ago, when you decided to finally yank that stick out of your butt. You're still uptight about things, but I like you much better now."

"Forty-seven years ago... what happened forty-seven years ago?"

"Toushiro! How could you forget? The living world? My birthday?"

"Oh yeah, _that_. Matsumoto, I thought we agreed never to bring that up again."

"But you were so cute!"

"Matsumoto!"

"Fine. But you did become so much more human that day."

He fought down a blush that threatened to rise up on his face.

"I mean, who knew you could be so nice? I knew you had the potential, but I never saw it firsthand like that."

"Matsumoto..."

"Before you were just Captain, after that day you became Toushiro."

He blinked. That incident happened almost ten years after him becoming captain of the tenth. Not only did it mean that he had held captaincy for over fifty years (he was beginning to feel old) but it also meant that Rangiku had thought of him being her best friend since the very beginning. Maybe that was why she thought that she could shove off all her paperwork on to him. He shook his head slowly.

"Dummy, I'm both of those people." He muttered.

"Yes, but Captain is so cold, distant and unfriendly. Toushiro is warm and cuddly... a little rough around the edges but he can be the sweetest person I've ever met sometimes." She pulled him into a hug from the side patting his head like if he was a cat.

"Matsumoto, you're drunk." He growled pushing away.

"I am not, just slightly tipsy." She pouted. "And why are you so against my hugs anyway?"

"I don't appreciate being suffocated to death, thank you."

They lapsed into silence. Toushiro tilted his head back and stared at the stars again. He felt his eyes begin to droop. He should be heading to bed soon.

"Matsumoto, I'm heading in. Make sure that everything is cleaned up by tomorrow. I don't want to see any sake bottles hanging around." He stood up and stretched.

She frowned. "You can't be ordering me around like that, lieutenant."

"I can, as of twenty minutes ago."

"Oh, sneaky, sneaky, Captain. But wait; let's just enjoy the night a little longer."

He raised an eyebrow. She grinned and it was only then he realised that she had two sake bottles in her hands. Were they there the entire time? Or was she hiding them. He shook his head. Some things were better left alone and Rangiku's knack for hiding stuff among her person was one of them.

She held up a bottle to him.

"Not on your life, Matsumoto. We have work tomorrow."

"That's never stopped me before. Come on what harm can it do? You never drink with me."

"For a good reason."

"Just a sip."

"No."

"Please."

"_No_."

"Captain!"

"NO."

"Just one sip then I promise I'll leave you alone."

"What part of 'no' do you not understand?"

"Please."

"Good night, Matsumoto. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Silly Captain, it is tomorrow. Now, just a little sip."

"NO!"

* * *

**She's not going to give up with that sake...**

**So now we know how Toushiro spent his last day of being lieutenant, now all that's left is to decides who wins!**

**I'd love to hear you guy's feedback**

**-Mymomomo**


	14. And so it ends

**So this is it... I think I'm gonna cry, such a bittersweet moment. My first multi-chapter fic to be completed... wow.**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, put me on alerts or favourites. Your motivation is what brought this about ^^**

**So without further ado he's the final chapter to The Bet. **

**Disclaimer: it's not mine.**

* * *

Ugh, what had he done last night? He yawned then stretched, realising that something was wrong when he tumbled out of bed and hit the floor. The last time he checked his bed was ground level and there was no way he could fall out of it. He blinked his eyes open and glanced around. This wasn't his room; he had fallen asleep in the office. He groaned and picked himself up from between the couch and the coffee table.

"Hey, Captain, you're awake. I was beginning to get worried." Rangiku called from her desk.

Toushiro turned to his lieutenant trying to blink away the morning fog. "What am I doing here, Matsumoto?"

She cocked her head. "You told me to leave you there for the night."

"I did, why?"

"Well we got back at around five and you said you were tired."

He paused. They had gotten back at five? He really had lost track of time. But then again talking with Rangiku always made him loose track of time. Well, when she decided to act her age for once. He shook his head. "Matsumoto, what time is it?"

She paused, "It should be around two by now-"

"Two in the afternoon!" Toushiro exclaimed jumping away from the couch, running over to his desk and frantically began shuffling through the files on his desk. "Why didn't you wake me up, the day is gone already and there's so much to be done."

"Relax Captain, you haven't missed much. I already started on the paperwork, and you were pretty tired. When was the last time you had a full night's sleep?"

He paused. "You started on the paperwork? Are you feeling alright?"

"Mmhmm, we did do that bet for a reason. You really have a lot of paperwork to do, Captain."

He raised an eyebrow. She really had learnt something. He could always count on Rangiku to help him out with everything except paperwork. He tilted his head; the bet had turned out for the better. Speaking of which, she had done a really good job this week. Better than he had expected. He felt his lips stretch into a small smile.

"Matsumoto."

"Yes, Captain?"

"About the bet, well, good job, you won. You lasted the week."

"What?" She glanced at him her eye brows raised.

"You won..."

"Wait, wait, wait, who decided this?"

"I did. You lasted one week as captain of the tenth and those were the terms of the bet. If you could last a week then you would win. So congratulations."

"No no no stop right there Captain. You're doing it again." She stood from the desk and came over to the couch. "I appreciate the gesture but, just stop. I know you feel responsible for me, but stop treating me like I'm a child who needs treats for doing what she's supposed to do. Okay before you say anything, I know that's how I act most of the time, but I need you to stop babying me."

He raised an eyebrow. He _babied_ her? What was she talking about? He kicked her in to shape he made sure she didn't go overboard. What was she talking about him babying her? "What, Matsumoto?"

"I'm serious, Captain. This past week I realised how much you let me slack off-"

"I don't let you-"

She held up a hand. "Let me finish, Captain. Thanks. I know that I haven't been the biggest help around the office and you've been picking up all the slack and I also know that if I don't step up soon you're going to work yourself into the ground. I don't think that you should reward me for doing something that I'm supposed to do."

"Who are you and what have to done with my lieutenant?"

"I'm not done yet. And the terms of the bet were that if you lasted a week as lieutenant you would win and you lasted. If anything, I think you should win."

He raised an eyebrow and folded his arms across his chest. "If I win then you have to do both of our paperwork for three months are you up for that, Matsumoto."

She laughed, "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Captain. I said I knew that I needed to pick up some slack but that is a miracle you're asking for."

He sighed. "Of course, that's way too much for me to ask for. What was I thinking?"

"Stop making fun of me, Captain. You know I can work when I want to."

"Yeah, I know. So a tie then?"

"No, that's exactly what I'm talking about, right there! You're supposed to force me to do the work for three months."

"But we both know that you won't end up doing it anyway."

"Mmmm, okay tie it is then."

He rolled his eyes. "You're hopeless, Matsumoto."

She grinned, leaning closer towards him and pecked him lightly on the cheek. "But you love me anyway!"

With that she jumped up from the sofa and ran out of the office. He sat the blinking for a short while before running over to the door and shouting behind her. "Matsumoto! Get back here, you still have work to do! And I don't love you! Where would you even get something like that from? Get back here this instant! MATSUMOTO!"

A few meters away, Rangiku snickered to herself. It was so much fun getting him riled up. He was just too cute when he was angry. But it was all for naught she had finished her paperwork for the day while he was sleeping. It wasn't much since he had kept her work up to date that week and had finished all her overdue files. She had even managed to take a few pictures of him while he slept. Things were going really well today.

She rounded a corner and froze in her tracks. What was this? She cleared her throat and marched up to a group of men who looked like they were about to fight. She recognised some of the men; the others she knew were from the eleventh. This was not happening right now. As she walked up to them they stopped whatever they were doing and stared at her.

"What is going on here?" She asked her eyes flashing. Did these men not learn?

Within minutes she had sent the men from the eleventh packing and turned on the tenth's soldiers with vengeance. Okay, it was time to lay down the law.

"Do any of you know our policy with fighting other divisions?" She asked.

The men guiltily looked at each other.

"I see. So then was it that difficult for one of you to go get either the captain or myself?"

"No, lieutenant, Matsumoto." They mumbled.

"So why was it that you were about to start a fight with them? You are well aware all that happened last week was because of a fight with the eleventh. I will not take these offences lightly from now on."

"But lieutenant, there wasn't actually a fight-"

Rangiku hesitated. They did have a point. She couldn't punish them for technically doing nothing. Maybe a warning could suffice. She opened her mouth only to snap it shut when she saw a pair of huge, teal eyes staring at her from the shadows. Toushiro must have followed her and was watching to see how she would react to this. She sighed; it was time to pick up some of the slack she was talking about. She thought briefly, what would Toushiro do in this situation? She was supposed to have learnt how to be captain and now it was time to show him that she wasn't completely hopeless. He would have punished them men regardless. But would her conscience really let her do that? It seemed almost villainous to do so. But she thought back to that conversation she had with Toushiro, she couldn't always be everybody's best friend. These men were going to end up mad at her. But it was her job. Toushiro's motto was teaching by example and she would be making an example of these men. It was against division policy to fight with the other divisions. She took a deep breath; she had to do what she had to do.

"That's because I showed up in time to stop it. You four are in serious trouble." She tried to hide her loathe to get them in trouble. It was against her nature to be intentionally mean to anyone. Sure she teased people, she made jokes at the expense of others but she had never willingly punished anyone.

"But we didn't do anything. If it wasn't for us those eleventh guys would have trashed the division." They looked at her pleadingly. But she turned away, she would not be swayed.

"It doesn't matter what they were about to do. The fact of the matter is your intention was to fight them and that is expressly forbidden in this division. Report to the office tomorrow at eight o'clock. The captain and I will decide on your punishment."

The men's shoulders slumped but they shuffled off giving her dirty looks. She turned around and took a deep breath. That had been the hardest... well one of the hardest things she had done all week. And she hadn't even been captain this time.

"I thought you were the understanding one." She overheard one of the men mutter as they left.

"She's changing, and it's not for the best." Another one snapped.

She swallowed and her eyes went wide. She was changing? Maybe she had been too harsh. It wasn't absolutely necessary to punish them when they were trying to help out the division, right? She was about to call out to them and take back the punishment when a small hand gently grabbed her elbow.

"Let it go, Matsumoto. They deserved it. We now have zero tolerance for needless brawls in this division. The men need to understand this."

She glanced down at her little captain. "They hate me now, don't they?"

He cocked his head. "Like you said, this division is like a family with you and I at the head. These men are our... children, if you so please and we have to do what's best for them even if they don't like what's best for them. You made a good decision punishing them, it may not feel like it, but it was the best thing you could do for them."

"I feel like the bad guy, though."

He snorted. "Parent's are generally the bad guys."

She put a finger to her lips. "When you put it that way, Captain... you make it sound like you and I are married. If you felt that way about me, you could have said something!"

He slapped his forehead. "I was making an analogy! You're completely hopeless!"

"Aww, Captain, you don't mean that."

"Yes I do."

"You're so mean!"

"Tch, and you're annoying."

"You can't tell a lady she's annoying. You'll never get anywhere that way."

"Who say's I want to get anywhere?"

"Because you're a guy."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

She smiled cheekily and started walking away from him, knowing that he would follow. "It means what I said, you're a guy."

He narrowed his eyes. "What do _you_ mean by that?"

She shrugged picking up her pace. "You can figure it out, Captain, you're smart."

He blinked thinking about what she could possibly mean. When realisation dawned in his eyes a light blush appeared on his cheeks and he rushed after his lieutenant with a loud shout. "Matsumoto... Matsumoto! MATSUMOTO!"

* * *

**As most of you suggested it should have ended up as a tie. I'm sorry if it was too predictable but that was the ending I pictured. They both learnt from each other and became better leaders. In my mind that is a tie, plus Toushiro doesn't have it in his genes to loose anything and Matsumoto would never let herself loose anything either. Heh, I hope you all enjoyed it regardless. ^^**

**Well you guys it's been a good... eight months? I'm gonna try not to break down before finishing this end note...**

**Thanks for reading my little experiment that was The Bet.**

**Over and out,**

**-Mymomomo**


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